2020 Statelessness & Citizenship Review 2(2) The petitioners in the above NIIMS case have lodged an appeal against the decision of the High Court. 14 They argued that without resolving underlying issues such as protection from government overreach or from unresolved claims on nationality and citizenship, Huduma Namba will disenfranchise and burden a substantial number of people. For example, one cannot purchase a mobile phone SIM card without an ID card. 15 Since 2016, children must have a birth certificate in order to attend school, 16 yet one needs a national ID card to register their child’s birth. 17 The case of one of the petitioners, the Nubian Rights Forum, is a reflection of the difficulties that Kenyans from marginalised communities face in acquiring legal documentation in both analogue and digital systems. BACKGROUND Nubians in Kenya generally hold that they are Kenyan by virtue of having been in the country for over 100 years. 18 Their ancestral home is in South Sudan, but a large group was settled in Kenya by the British after the First World War. They were allocated land in Nairobi’s Kibera area. Around the time that the Nubians arrived in Kenya, the British colonial government began issuing identity documents to Kenyan male adults. Authorised under the Native Registration Ordinance, 19 identity cards were worn around the neck on a piece of string. The primary object of the ID, referred to as the Kipande, was the control of African labour and movement. 20 Among information collected during registration was the clan and tribe of each subject. The register codified major Kenyan tribes and, since it was not recognised as Kenyan, the Nubian tribe was never codified. The lack of this code was used for many years to deny Nubians registration for identification by subsequent government administrations. 21 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 The Nubian Rights Forum (first petitioner in the NIIMS Case (n 5)) filed a notice of appeal in February 2020. A hearing date has not been set at the time of this commentary being published. For more information, see Nubian Rights Forum, ‘February in a Glance’ (Press Release, 10 March 2020) <http://nubianrightsforum.org/2020/03/10/february-in-a-glance/>; @NubianRights (Nubian Rights Forum) (Twitter, 23 September 2020, 5:17PM) <https://twitter.com/NubianRights/status/1308666764046348288>. As commented on by the High Court of Kenya. See NIIMS Case (n 5) [517]. The legal basis for this can be found in the Basic Education Act, No 14 of 2013 (Republic of Kenya) s 33(1). The Birth and Death Registration Act, Act No 2 of 1928 (Republic of Kenya) ss 7 and 2 require nationality documents in order to register a birth. ‘Nubian Community in Kenya v Kenya’, Open Society Justice Initiative (Web Page) <https://www.justiceinitiative.org/litigation/nubian-community-kenya-v-kenya>. Native Registration Ordinance (1921) Law No 56 of 1921 (Republic of Kenya). Juliet Atellah, ‘Toa Kitambulisho! Evolution of Registration of Persons in Kenya’, The Elephant (Blog Post, 14 June 2019) <https://www.theelephant.info/datastories/2019/06/14/toa-kitambulisho-evolution-of-registration-of-persons-in-kenya/>. An Identity Crisis? A Study on the Issuance of National Identity Cards In Kenya (Study, Kenya National Commission on Human Rights 2007) <http://www.knchr.org/Portals/0/EcosocReports/KNCHR%20Final%20IDs%20Report.pdf> (‘An Identity Crisis?’). 350