Dead in 1977 Returns to Add 21 People to His Kuwaiti Citizenship File

07/05/2026

KUWAIT CITY, May 7: Kuwaiti authorities are investigating a dramatic nationality forgery case in which an individual allegedly assumed the identity of a Kuwaiti citizen who had been dead since 1977, using old gaps in death registration and civil data systems to build an official file that later became linked to 21 people.

According to informed sources, the original citizen was born in 1947, had a valid legal status and unquestioned Kuwaiti citizenship, and had served in the Ministry of Defense after reaching adulthood. He died in 1977, was buried with an official burial permit, and, according to investigations, was unmarried and had no children at the time of his death.

However, the case took a shocking turn years later. Investigators found that another person allegedly exploited the absence of a unified electronic system at the time and began using the deceased citizen’s identity after Kuwait’s liberation from the Iraqi invasion. Official movements linked to the file reportedly began appearing in 1993, raising serious red flags.

Sources said the suspected impersonator registered children under the deceased citizen’s file, despite their birth dates being from before the invasion. This unusual timeline prompted security and legal scrutiny, especially as authorities are now reviewing all nationality files that showed sudden or suspicious changes after the invasion.

The investigation also uncovered a Gulf national with the same name and children carrying the same names as those listed in the Kuwaiti file. When the deceased citizen’s real brothers were summoned, they confirmed that their brother had died in 1977 and denied knowing the person shown to them in photographs, reportedly telling investigators: “We do not know him, and he is not related to us.” They also presented the original death certificate issued in 1977.