Report Exposes 3 Govt Mistakes In Passport Applications & How To Solve Them

The Commission on Administrative Justice commonly known as the Ombudsman, on Tuesday, June 6 released its investigation report which revealed major blunders in the process of Kenyans applying for passports.

The Ombudsman noted that it had launched an investigation into allegations that the Department of Immigration was overcharging citizens for passports.

The investigation was triggered by several complaints made online on social media via a Facebook page called “Wanderlust Diaries Ltd” against the Department of Immigration.

Speaking during the release of the report, the Chairperson of the Commission, Florence Kajuju, urged the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of the National Government, the Department of Immigration, and the National Treasury to implement the Commission’s recommendation.

The Chairman of the Commission on Administrative Justice Florence Kajuju speaking during a press conference on June 6, 2023. /OMBUDSMAN KENYA.TWITTER

On her part, the Principal Administrative Secretary in the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government, Anne Ng’etich committed that the Ministry will implement all the recommendations of the Commission to improve service delivery.

The investigation highlighted that all nine complaints allegedly revolving around the overcharge of passport fees were found to be true while the allegation by the Immigration Department that the complainants edited their application to a lower series was found to be false.

In the report, some applicants who had paid for a “B” series passport, which contained 50 pages, were issued the ‘A’ series passports of 34 pages.

“It was confirmed that the seven complainants applied for "B" series passports, which were the only options at the time, and paid Ksh6,050, but were instead issued "A" series passports,” the Commission noted.

The Ombudsman noted that the complaints were justified after investigations revealed that the department overcharged several citizens to process their travel documents.

The investigations further revealed that the delays in the processing of passports and the unavailability of a particular passport series on the e-Citizen platform were found to be occasioned majorly by two factors; delays in the approval of the procurement of blank passport booklets, and, the continuous breakdown of printing machines at the Department of Immigration.

The Ombudsman further noted that the Immigration Department neither communicated to the applicants the fact that the series they applied for had run out of stock nor sought their consent for a downgrade.

"The department lacked an internal policy or procedure to guide and regulate issues that may arise during passport processing, such as application editing and cancellation," added the Ombudsman. 

Furthermore, after being issued with fewer pages, there was no communication in regard to the procedure for a refund, a matter which led to Kenyans losing their money when they falsely paid more money while applying for passports through the eCitizen platform.

Kajuju advised the Ministry of Interior led by Kithure Kindiki, particularly the PS State Department of Immigration and Citizen Services to cause an audit of the NADRA system for the period of 2021-2023 to identify all passport applicants whose excess payments have not been refunded. The PS was directed to provide the Commission with the data within three months.

Kindiki was also directed to ensure an increase in the budgetary allocation to the Department of Immigration for the purchase of new high-capacity passport printing machines and service of the old passport printing machines. The new machines will be a solution to the delays in the processing of passports because of the continuous breakdown of printing machines reported by the department. 

Further, the CS was advised to upgrade the eCitizen platform to allow for the accommodation of new and emerging trends, a move Kajuju termed as a solution to the reported unavailability of a particular passport series on the eCitizen platform leading to delays in processing. 

Earlier, the State Department for Immigration announced delays in processing passport applications as a result of technical challenges.