The Ministry of Interior has announced the loss of 900 birth certificates in the Mutomo registration office, Kitui.
In a notice on Tuesday, Paul Mwangemi, the acting secretary of Civil Registration Services said the loss involved nine birth certificate booklets, each containing 100 leaflets.
The affected birth certificate booklets are of serial numbers: 1502001 - 1502100, 1502101 - 1502200, 1502201 - 1502300, 1502301 - 1502400, 1502401 - 1502500, 1502501 - 1502600, 1502601 - 1502700, 1502701 - 1502800 and 1502801 - 1502900.
“The Department cautions the public that the said birth certificates have been cancelled thereby rendering them invalid,” Mwangemi said.
“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.”
In Kenya, a birth certificate provides proof that one is a Kenyan and is similarly required by pupils and students applying to sit for national examinations.
In the case where a birth certificate is lost, there are two ways of replacing it; through physical and online application processes.
Physical application for a lost birth certificate in Kenya:
Step 1: When it comes to applying for a replacement birth certificate in Kenya, it is essential to have a copy of your birth notification or the original birth certificate. “If you do not have this, you will be required to go to the civil registry in your county for retrieval of this,” a statement from Huduma Centre states.
Step 2: For those born within Nairobi County, one can either visit the office of the Registration of Births and Deaths or visit the Huduma Centre.
Step 3: At either location, present your birth notification slip, which serves as proof of your date of birth.
Step 4: Once the validation process is complete, you will need to fill out a form (B1) and submit it to the civil registration officer.
Step 5: Following your submission, you will receive a notification indicating when and where you can collect the new birth certificate.
Online application for a lost birth certificate in Kenya:
If you are below 18, and you are born in Nairobi, follow these steps on how to replace a lost certificate:
Step 1: Sign in to the parent’s e-citizen portal
Step 2: Select the civil registration department
Step 3: Select the birth certificate
Step 4: Select “replacement”
Step 5: Put in your necessary details and upload all documents
Step 6: Pay the required fee You will get notified when the replacement is ready.
For adults above 18, here is how to replace your lost certificate in Kenya:
Step 1: Sign in to e-citizen
Step 2: Select the civil registration department
Step 3: Select the birth certificate
Step 4: Select “replacement”
Step 5: Put in your necessary details and upload all documents
Step 6: Pay the required fee. You will get notified when the replacement is ready.
Children below 18 years require a copy of their birth notification or birth certificate and a copy of their parent’s ID.
Adults, those considered to be above 18 years, are required to produce a copy of their birth notification/birth certificate copy of parents’s ID copy of personal ID