Residents of Vihiga County have been encouraged to process their births and deaths certificate in time to avoid last minute rush to secure the documents whenever need arises.
Vihiga County Civil Registrar Beatrice Gathumbi advised residents to make application early enough to facilitate smooth and seamless processing of related requirements in government services.
Gathumbi revealed that the county had by this month of 2026 issued at least 70 percent birth certificates and another 80 percent of death certificate applications, saying any pending documents will be be released at the earliest opportunity.
Speaking during a live interview with Vihiga FM radio station in Mbale town, the registrar elaborated to listeners the importance of acquiring the two documents at the onset birth or death of a relative
“Issuance of burial permits secures permission to inter a deceased person and culminates with the processing of a death certificate, while for a birth notification issued within one day to six months after child is born facilitates the processing of birth certificate,” she explained.
Gathumbi explained that through birth certificates, the existence of a person can be confirmed including details of the year of birth, name of the parents, place of birth and the actual age of the person.
She insisted that only biological parents should be included in the birth certificates of their children and they cannot be registered twice since they have all the records.
“In some places, especially remote areas, birth certificates are mainly used to determine whether the children have attained the right age to join schools, since the government requires children at the age of seven to be in grade one,” she remarked.
The Registrar further said during medical care in hospitals, as much as SHA (social Health Authority) is used, a parent needs to have the birth certificate of the child in order to add him/her as a beneficiary to access good medical care.
Gathumbi noted that a birth certificate is also required for registration of legal marriages to avoid underage marriages in the country.
During the radio engagement, the Civil Registrar of Tiriki East Sub County, Bonventure Akwana stated that the government needs to have the records of births and deaths for strategizing, planning and delivery of services to the people.
He said death certificates can be used by deceased’s dependents for land succession, can help students apply for loans and scholarships, and can be used to prove the deceased existed at some point.
Akwana said that late registration of births has consequences such as higher charges, when paying for the certificates and delay in joining school for children, since the education system requires a birth certificate for enrollment in schools.
Akwana explained that when a child is delivered in the hospital, it is the responsibility of the respective medical facility to ensure he/she has been registered, given a notification and the returns should be taken to the county registration offices.
However, in a case where a child is delivered at home, it is the duty of the parent to notify the area assistant chief and allow the information to be recorded and later, go with the notification and parent identification to create a birth certificate in the registration offices.
“In an event where a child has passed the registration window of one day to six months, the parents should go to the area assistant chief to write an acknowledgement letter indicating the reason for late registration,” he added.
“On delayed registration, a specific form is filled, through the assistant chief and brought to the registration office for certification and registration.
“For those born from 1984 and below, B3 form is used with the assistant chief confirming if the child was born at home within his/her area of jurisdiction,” added Gathumbi.
She noted that clinic books are mainly used to know the area the child was born, while registration remains free of charge.
In a case where the parents are teenagers without national identification Cards, they only provide names and register for the birth certificates.
Gathumbi further expounded that within two years in the life of a child, parents are allowed by the government to change names of their children, if need be, and in this case only consent of the parents is required.
She explained that since registration has not reached the desired percentage in remote areas of the county, through the local National Government Administrative Officers they will continue to sensitize people about birth and death registration in public barazas.
She added that they reach out to parents through the principals and headteachers of different schools for sensitization on the importance of birth and death registration.
By Florence Oteng’o and Maureen Imbayi
