Bill: Africans with Kenyan ancestry can become citizens
Published: 4/Jan/2025
Source: The East African
By SAMWEL OWINO
Africans in the diaspora who claim Kenyan descent by ancestry will be allowed to apply for citizenship if a new Bill before the National Assembly is passed.
The Kenya Citizenship and Immigration (Amendment) Bill, 2024, sponsored by Suba South MP Caroli Omondi, seeks to enable Africans in the diaspora but with Kenyan roots to acquire citizenship through an expedited process.
Apart from acquisition of citizenship by birth, registration and naturalisation as currently provided in law, the Bill seeks to introduce the fourth category of acquisition of citizenship by ancestry.
“Despite provisions of Section 7, a person born outside Kenya who claims Kenyan descent by ancestry may apply for citizenship subject to providing proof that the person has not been convicted of a criminal offence and been sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months,” the Bill reads.
Before determining the ancestry of persons eligible to apply for Kenyan citizenship, a genetic genealogy will be conducted by Kenyan authorities to determine the ancestry of an individual.
Read further: https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/bill-africans-with-kenyan-ancestry-can-become-citizens-4878236