Kindiki To Force Kenyans To Collect Their Passports
Kindiki complained about the huge number of uncollected passports in the immigration offices despite his Ministry of Interior's commitment to enhancing service delivery in terms of passports.
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Interior Cabinet Secretary (CS), Kithure Kindiki on Tuesday, September 12 announced that it will soon be compulsory for Kenyans to collect their ready-made passports from immigration offices across the country.
Speaking in Embu, Kindiki complained about the huge number of uncollected passports in the immigration offices despite his Ministry of Interior's commitment to enhancing service delivery in terms of passports.
He gave an example of the immigration office in Embu which has around 6,000 uncollected passports, with Nairobi holding between 20,000 and 30,000 uncollected passports.
Interior CS Kithure Kindiki during a visit to Embu Regional Immigration offices on September 12, 2023. /KITHURE KINDIKI
“We have discovered after we improved on our service delivery that we have quite a number of uncollected passports including in this office (Embu).
"This office alone is holding approximately 6,000 uncollected passports, Nairobi is holding somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 uncollected passports and the other regional offices are also having some uncollected passports,” lamented the CS.
The CS consequently revealed that the government will make it a must for those who applied for passports to collect them after they are printed, promising to explore methods such as publishing the passport numbers in daily newspapers in circulation to remind Kenyans to do so.
“We will even publish those passport numbers and those public holders with a notice that they must come and collect them, if they don’t we will announce the measures we will take,” Kindiki added.
Kindiki further threatened to take decisive steps to make Kenyans collect the vital document, including the option of disposing of them within the confines of the law.
“You can't put us under pressure as immigration officers to give you your passport then when it is printed you don’t come for it. Some of them we have already tried sending them messages, calling them to come and pick up their passports and they are not in a hurry.”
“We will force everyone to come and pick up their passport within a certain period of time if they don’t pick we will apply the law in terms of making sure we find a way of disposing them and closing that chapter,” he vowed.
At the Embu Regional Immigration Department offices, Kindiki engaged with the staff and cascaded the policy and operational guidelines that the Government has initiated to fully and permanently transform the processing and issuance of passports and other citizenship documents.
The Interior boss also emphasized that the process of applying for and producing passports and other vital citizenship documents must be corruption-free and not involve brokers and middlemen.
As of last week, the passport backlog stood at 58,000, with the Department of Immigration and Citizen Services processing approximately 5,000 passports daily.
The ministry however introduced double shifts of 24 hours in total from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. to facilitate optimal printing.
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