In a startling revelation, the government has called for the immediate return of 900 birth certificates after a clerical mishap at the Mutomo Registration Office rendered them invalid.

The announcement, made on Tuesday through the State Department of Immigration Services, has raised fresh concerns about the security and management of crucial public documents.

The certificates in question, covering serial numbers between 1502001 and 1502900, are considered "missing" and no longer legally valid.

Authorities are urging anyone holding these documents to surrender them to the Civil Registration Services at Hass Plaza, Nairobi, for proper disposal.

This directive comes on the heels of a similar blunder involving lost title deeds, throwing a spotlight on inefficiencies within key government offices.

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Paul Mwangemi, Acting Secretary of Civil Registration Services, stressed the urgency of the matter, warning that keeping the invalid certificates would render them entirely unusable.

“Any person(s) who may have been issued with any Certificate bearing any of the above serial numbers is advised to return it/them to the Secretary, Civil Registration Services, 4th floor, Hass Plaza Lower Hill,” read the official notice.

The mishap has left many questioning how such vital documents could slip through the cracks unnoticed.

This latest error follows closely after the government’s admission of another monumental loss—366 title deeds that mysteriously disappeared last month.

On 27th September, a gazette notice confirmed that the missing deeds, bearing serial numbers 5253001 to 5253367, had been declared null and void.

Despite acknowledging the loss, the government was quick to absolve itself of any responsibility, stating that it would not be liable for any unauthorised transactions linked to the vanished documents.

The official position, delivered by Government Printer Abdi Hassan, made it clear that the missing deeds no longer held any legal weight, although little explanation was offered for how they were lost in the first place.

The lack of transparency has only deepened public concern over the security of sensitive state-issued records.

These incidents add to the growing frustration among Kenyans over delays in accessing essential government documents.

A backlog of national identity cards, driving licences, and birth certificates has been piling up at Huduma Centres across the country.

Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi recently revealed that approximately 180,000 identity cards, 47,000 driving licences, and 54,000 birth certificates are languishing in storage, uncollected by their rightful owners.

With mounting public scrutiny over the handling of official documents, these ongoing issues could provoke stronger calls for accountability.

For now, however, those affected by the cancellation of the 900 birth certificates have no choice but to comply with the government’s demand, returning the papers to avert further complications.