From no ID to first vote: How Kenyan citizenship changed life for the Pemba community

In Mayungu, Kilifi County, Juma Masoud can point to several things that became possible after he obtained his Kenyan identity documents.

He can run his fish business more openly, obtain the licences required to operate, buy land and register property and vehicles in his own name.

Before that, he says, the absence of documentation made ordinary transactions difficult.

His experience captures the practical meaning of citizenship better than any official definition.

A generational problem

The Pemba community's struggle with nationality dates back decades.

The community is largely descended from people who came to Kenya from the Zanzibar archipelago before independence, with many settling along the Coast and making fishing, farming and trade their livelihoods.

Because they were not registered as Kenyan citizens after independence, generations were left without conclusive proof of nationality.

UNHCR says the government formally granted citizenship to around 7,000 members of the Pemba community in 2023, ending a long period of statelessness.

President William Ruto announced the citizenship decision in December 2022 and formally awarded citizenship in July 2023, describing it as an end to nearly a century of marginalization.

The President also issued title deeds to members of the community during the ceremony in Kilifi.

The effects are now becoming visible in everyday life.

An ID changes more than a name

Before recognition, Pemba fishermen and traders say they faced restrictions that other citizens could take for granted.

Opening a bank account, registering a business, securing licences or acquiring property could be difficult without recognised identity documents.

UNHCR has previously documented cases where stateless Pemba people could not open bank accounts or buy land because they lacked proof of nationality.

Ibrahim Mohamed, a Pemba born in Mombasa, says citizenship has changed that experience.

Members of the community can conduct business more freely and are increasingly accepted in public and community structures.

His own election as a village elder in Mayungu is another example of that change.

The community is no longer only seeking access to services; its members are participating in the structures through which communities are governed.

From fishing to business

Much of the Pemba community's traditional livelihood has revolved around the sea.

But formal citizenship broadens the economic choices available to people.

With identity documentation, individuals can interact more easily with banks, licensing authorities and formal markets, while property ownership provides an opportunity to build assets in their own names.

UNHCR specifically notes that recognised citizenship can open access to education, healthcare, social protection, financial services and livelihood opportunities.

For a fisherman in Mayungu, that might begin with a licence.

For another person, it could mean a bank account, a plot of land, a business or access to a government programme.

The difference is that these choices are now backed by recognized legal identity.

And then comes the ballot

The next milestone is political.

For the first time, members of the Pemba community are entering an election cycle as recognised Kenyan citizens, with some already registered as voters.

That gives citizenship its most visible democratic consequence:

The ability not only to live and work in Kenya, but to participate in choosing its leaders.

For people whose families spent decades in a legal limbo, casting a ballot will be another sign of how far that journey has gone.

From fishing licences and bank accounts to land titles, leadership roles and the ballot box, the change is ultimately about something simple.