Following accusations that the Department of Immigration Services takes an eternity to process and issue passports, the Directorate of Immigration Services has stepped out to defend itself.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Prof. Kithure Kindiki raised the issue before the National Assembly's Regional Integration Committee on Thursday, blaming the delays on corruption in Nyayo House.
The Immigration agency reported in a circular sent to newsrooms on Friday that Nyayo House printed 96,310 passports between July 13 and August 2023.
According to the Department, 53,750 were printed by day shift staff, while the remaining 42,560 were processed during the night shifts.
Did you read this?
Kindiki promised to clean up Nyayo House once and for all when he appeared before a Parliamentary committee on Thursday.
"I will finally clean up Nyayo House." Nyayo House will be sealed up and designated as a crime scene. How do Kenyans start their day at 6 a.m.? It's going to be different from business. "We need to clean up Nyayo's house," he said.
Some of Kenya's current challenges, such as insecurity and terrorism, may be linked back to corruption at Nyayo House, according to the CS.
"If you go to Wajir, 21-year-olds have been waiting for IDs for three years," he added.
According to the CS, the current passport backlog is at 58,000, with the Department of Immigration and Citizen Services processing around 5,000 passports per day.
Kindiki also claimed that plans are in the works to issue passports in 7 days, with the issuance period being decreased to 3 days in the future and 24 hours in the event of an emergency.
