Kenyans will now be able to apply to get online, as per a new system that has been implemented on eCitizen.
The Office of the Attorney General has added a new option on the eCitizen platform which will allow couples to seek marriage registration services in this pandemic era.
This move will allow both Kenyan and foreign nationals to complete the process of registration of marriage services online. This prevents the need for them to make trips to the marriage registry to seek the same service. They will only need to visit the registrar’s office on the final day after the other processes have been conducted online.
On eCitizen, the new option is under the Office of the Attorney General. They offer 5 services to people seeking marriage services: Registration of Marriage, Licensing of Ministers of Faith, Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage, Application of a Certified Copy, and Issuance of Marriage Books.
Couples planning to do a civil wedding will now be required to register their details on eCitizen, pay for the marriage fee, book for a pre-wedding interview then late get an appointment for the wedding to be officiated by the registrar. After registration, couples will still be given the 21 days notice for approval like in the previous manual process.
Marriage services were suspended in May when people brought up the dilemma of enforcing COVID-19 measures while keeping the services running. Before the pandemic, the government used to attend to 400 people daily which rose to 600 daily during the high season. The suspension of services in May resulted in the suspension of 2,551 marriages.
This service will be first rolled out in Nairobi and thereafter in other counties after the platform takes root, the State Law Office Chief Administrative Secretary, Winnie Guchu said.
