The Department of Registration of Persons has partnered with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to boost acquisition of identity cards and voter registration in Sabatia Sub-County, Vihiga County, ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The mobile registration exercise, which began on August 3 and is scheduled to run until September 3, 2026, has so far registered 500 new identity card applicants and processed replacements for 810 people whose cards were lost or mutilated.
Speaking during a Sabatia Sub-County Service Delivery meeting at the Deputy County Commissioner’s office on Tuesday, Department of Registration of Persons official Emmanuel Busutu said the exercise was targeting residents who had not acquired identity cards as well as those requiring replacement documents.
He said registration officers were moving from one location to another to issue already processed but uncollected identity cards, while IEBC officials used the opportunity to register eligible residents as voters.
“We have been holding mobile registration sessions in conjunction with IEBC to ensure more residents acquire identity cards and are able to participate in the electoral process,” Busutu said.
He added that mobile registration sessions would also be conducted in schools in partnership with the Ministry of Education to reach more residents and facilitate access to identity documents.
Sabatia Sub-County IEBC Registration Officer Elida Ochieng said 2,655 new voters had so far been registered, while 917 voters had transferred their registration from other areas during the ongoing continuous voter registration exercise.
She said the sub-county had 4,344 registered voters before the current exercise, with the latest registration expected to increase the number of eligible voters ahead of the 2027 elections.
Ochieng said stakeholders from Sabatia Constituency had also requested additional polling centres, a request that was approved by the Government.
As a result, the number of polling centres in the constituency has increased from 75 to 91.
Meanwhile, Sabatia Sub-County Civil Registration Officer Edwin Nganga urged residents to present correct documents when applying for birth and death certificates to avoid delays in processing.
Nganga said some applicants presented incorrect or incomplete documents, particularly when applying for birth certificates, making it difficult for registration officers to verify their claims.
He noted that some applicants claimed to have lost documents in house fires, saying while some cases could be genuine, officers faced challenges in determining the authenticity of such claims.
Nganga also raised concern over the possibility of misuse of identity documents, citing Sabatia’s location along routes used in child trafficking.
He warned that individuals from neighbouring counties could potentially exploit the area to acquire documents for illegal purposes.
Nganga said the civil registration office had registered 519 births and 125 deaths between April and July 2026.
Ends/Social/Ngatia/Ngala
Photo caption: National Registration Bureau Sabatia Sub-County officers register residents during a mobile registration exercise at Bukulunya on Tuesday, August 25, 2026. Photo by Maureen Imbayi/KNA.
By Maureen Imbayi
