Technical Failure Halts ID Services at Huduma Kenya Centres Nationwide

Huduma Kenya has declared a temporary shutdown of its systems, which has slowed down the issuance and processing of the National Identity Cards in its centres around the country.

On Wednesday, November 5, in a statement, the agency reported that it was having intermittent technical glitches that had affected normal operations.

It promised the society that its technical department is striving to ensure that the complete functionality is restored.

The statement that was posted in part said, “Huduma Kenya would like to inform our valued customers that we are facing intermittent system downtime that is likely to slow down the pace of processing and issuing National Identity Cards.

“We are working around the clock to get the system in optimal working and to request you to be patient.

The intrusion followed days after the government declared a six-month waiver of charges imposed on replacement and alteration of ID and personal details.

The ministry canceled fees on duplicate or replacement identification documents and amending personal particulars on the Registration of Persons (Amendment) Rules, 2025 in a report given by the interior cabinet secretary Kipchumba Murkomen.

The notice added that during the first six months, the charges imposed on copies or replacement identification documents and corrections of details will be zero.

This waiver became effective October 30, 2025. The relocation is likely to relieve thousands of Kenyans of the financial burden that they normally find it hard to afford, replacing lost or damaged IDs, which used to cost Sh1,000 per process.

The waiver of the fees is a wider approach of the government to enhance accessibility of necessary identification and registration services, particularly among low-income citizens and those residing in isolated regions.

In the meantime, the digital transformation of Huduma Kenya has been happening within the last few months in order to enhance efficiency and minimize queues at its centres.

In July, the agency declared that it was planning to reduce the waiting period to acquire Police Clearance Certificate, often referred to as a Certificate of Good Conduct, to a mere one-day period.

This announcement was preceded by a multi-agency meeting that was held on July 24 and which saw the officials of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the ICT Authority, and Huduma Kenya deliberating on how to modernise service delivery.

Assistant Inspector General Gillion Mwangi indicated that the government would install Multi-Biometric Identification (MBI) systems and live capture machines at the Huduma Centres so that verification and data processing can be done faster.

Huduma Kenya stated that it is already in the process of implementing major changes that will enable the shortening of the turnaround time of service by DCI, as police clearance certificates will shortly be dealt with and issued the same day.

The agency indicated that the new technology will improve accuracy, minimize the number of mistakes made in the process of manual data entry, and deliver swifter and more uninterrupted services to citizens.

According to the statement, the initiative will enhance the efficiency of operations at the DCI desk and will help in increasing the speed in delivering services to the citizens using Huduma Centres around the country.

Although the current system has difficulties, the government agency- Huduma Kenya, insisted that it is determined to deliver continuous access to the key government services and asked the citizens to be patient.

The agency has over 50 Huduma Centres throughout the country, a one-stop shop of various types of government services, such as ID applications, passport processing, and police clearance certificates.

With the process of digitization of public service delivery in Kenya, Huduma Kenya has been leading the change agenda at the government so as to ensure provision of services to the people is quicker, cheaper, and more open.

To date, the agency claims that restoring the interrupted system is its highest priority as the technicians strive to put the ID processing and issuance back to normal speed in the next few days.