The governments will issue the Makonde people with national identification cards (IDs) following a directive by president Uhuru Kenyatta.

Uhuru directed that the community be issued the IDs by December this year and also apologized to the Makonde for their agony.

“I seek your apology on behalf of other Kenyans because Kenya has taken too long to consider you as our brothers and sisters,” Uhuru said.

The president was speaking to a delegation of 300 people from the alienated community, who had trekked from Kwale County to Nairobi for a week seeking to meet president Uhuru and air their grievances.

Upon their arrival in Nairobi, the group was received by the Kenya Human Rights Commission director George Kegoro and other activists.

The Makonde are a community living in Kwale County but originally from Mozambique. They were brought into the country in the 1940s by colonialists to work in sisal fields at the coast and after independence, those who had settled decided to stay and have for decades been kept without citizenship.

According to a representative of the community, Mzee Thomas Nguli, the Makonde have for decades appealed to Government to recognize them as Kenyans in vain.

Consequently, people from the community have suffered greatly as they continue to miss out on jobs, ownership of properties and access to education for their children is also limited.