During a joint meeting of the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security and the State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services, Elgeyo Marakwet County Woman Representative Caroline Ngelechei raised concerns about the uneven distribution of civil registration and national identity card officers across Kenya.

She noted that oversight visits to counties such as Bungoma and Busia revealed stark disparities, with many officers clustered in urban centres while rural areas face chronic shortages.

In Elgeyo Marakwet County, the Keiyo North sub‑county reportedly has about 15 registration officers, whereas the neighbouring Keiyo Valley sub‑county has only one officer, who she said is a clerk rather than a qualified civil registration officer.

Other sub‑counties in the county have between two and six officers, a figure she contrasted with similar monthly output levels to those of the better‑staffed sub‑counties.

Ngelechei also highlighted that about 37 registration officers are stationed at the National Registration Bureau in Nairobi, despite limited office space, suggesting a concentration of staff in the capital.

She alleged that some officers posted to rural stations quickly return to headquarters, citing reports that officers receive letters directing them back the day after deployment.

Calling for a shift in human‑resource management, the MP urged decentralisation of staff deployment authority to county officials, arguing that this would keep officers where services are most needed.

She concluded that achieving universal civil registration and identity‑card coverage requires a fairer distribution of personnel, especially in hard‑to‑reach areas, to avoid wasteful under‑utilisation in towns.