Kenya: New year, same struggle for the stateless Rundi

Published: 2/Jan/2026
Source: PressReader/People Daily Kenya

By Shaban Omar @Peopledailyke

It is a new year, but for Esther Butui Ndam­bara from Kwale County, there is little to cel­eb­rate. For all her 42 years, Ndam­bara born and raised in Kenya and belong­ing to the Rundi com­munity, she has lived without recog­ni­tion from the State.

Like many oth­ers from her com­munity, she remains State­less. Ndam­bara, who is also the national chair­per­son for Kenyan Rundi com­munity said she inher­ited State­less­ness from her great-grand­par­ents, who arrived from Bur­undi in the late 1940s and 1950s to work as shamba boys before set­tling along the coast.

The Rundi began push­ing for recog­ni­tion at the same time as the Makonde and Pemba com­munit­ies, yet while the Makonde gained cit­izen­ship in 2017 and the Pemba in 2023, the Rundi were left behind.

“We were together with the Makonde and Pemba com­munit­ies, but unfor­tu­nately they were gran­ted cit­izen­ship and we are still strug­gling,”ndam­bara says.

Fif­teen years since their quest began, the Rundi com­munity is still fight­ing to belong. The lack of cit­izen­ship remains a daily bur­den.

Ndam­bara said they can­not obtain birth cer­ti­fic­ates or national iden­tity cards, doc­u­ments cru­cial for access­ing health­care, edu­ca­tion, formal employ­ment, and the right to own prop­erty.

For many Rundi fam­il­ies and oth­ers, it means gen­er­a­tions being locked out of oppor­tun­it­ies and basic rights that most Kenyans take for gran­ted.

Read further: https://www.pressreader.com/kenya/people-daily-epaper/20260102/281625311669707

Themes: Acquisition by children, Discrimination, Ethnic/Racial/Religious, Birth Registration, ID Documents and Passports, Statelessness
Regions: Kenya
Year: 2026