The government has registered and recognised the Pare community in Taita Taveta County as Kenyan citizens, Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has said.
The community, which lives in Taveta Sub-County, is now officially one of the ethnic groups in the county. Its members will soon be issued with identity cards to take part in next year’s General Election and in development.
Prof Kindiki, Taveta MP John Bwire and Taita Taveta Woman Representative Lydia Haika confirmed yesterday that the community has been registered. A ceremony to mark the recognition will be held at State House, Nairobi, on November 18.
“The Pare community has now been registered and recognised as citizens of Kenya. The celebration to officially recognise the community will be held on November 18 this year at State House,” said Mr Bwire, who is also a lawyer.
Ms Haika said the recognition followed a petition by the community asking the government to register its members as citizens.
The Pare are a minority community believed to have originated in Tanzania. They live along the Kenya-Tanzania border and number about 15,000 in Kenya. Their homeland lies on one of the northern routes of the historic East African long-distance trade, which connected the interior with the Indian Ocean coast.
Community chairperson Rama Lukindo said the Pare had lived in the area since the 18th century but had suffered for years because they lacked identity cards, birth certificates and title deeds.
“Our children have been denied critical services like bursaries. We have the right to be recognised as citizens of Kenya, and we are petitioning the government to end the many years of discrimination and suffering,” he said.
He said the community has been part of Taveta for as long as anyone can remember and forms the majority of the population in Jipe, Matas, Marodo, Ngutini, Kitoghoto, Eldoro, Kitobo and Madarasi villages.
Ms Haika told the Deputy President that the Constitution requires the government to promote and protect Kenya’s diverse cultural heritage.
She said community members cannot open bank accounts, borrow money to improve their lives, register for the Social Health Authority (SHA) or use M-Pesa services.
“The community members are not getting the services they deserve. They cannot even open bank accounts or borrow loans to transform their lives and empower themselves economically. They are also not registered for SHA and cannot access quality healthcare services, including M-Pesa services,” she said.
Ms Haika also said dozens of Tanzanian women married to Kenyan men in the county had not been registered as Kenyans because they lack national identity cards. She asked the government to facilitate their documentation.
The women have been protesting at county and national government offices over the denial of identity cards because they lack registration certificates. They have demanded to know why it is so difficult for foreign women who are legally married in Kenya to get IDs. Their husbands also complained of frustration in trying to have their wives registered as citizens.
Cross-border marriages in the county are rising because of its proximity to the border.
Kitobo Location Chief Yunis Jureji told The Standard in an earlier interview that his area is home to many women of Tanzanian origin who married in Kenya.
“Some of the women were married at a very tender age. More women and men are crossing borders to find their better halves,” he said.
Ms Haika asked the government to ensure that cross-border marriages in the region are supported and recognised.
Some of the women said they were married in Kenya 50 years ago and that their children and grandchildren are Kenyan citizens by birth.
“We cannot fully participate in building the economy because we lack the relevant documents. We cannot even access simple services such as M-Pesa and loans, or register in women’s Saccos, because we do not have the documentation,” said one of the women.
Prof Kindiki assured the women that the government would soon register them as Kenyan citizens. “Tanzanian women married in Kenya will be registered and issued IDs as earlier directed by President William Ruto," the DP said.
