Passport Cartel Crackdown: Kindiki in Another Surprise Visit to Nyayo House

On Friday morning, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki made a surprise visit to Nyayo house for the second time this week.

He had previously promised to address the issue of cartels at the immigration offices. Kindiki explained that his unannounced visits were intended to motivate employees to work hard towards clearing the passport backlog which has been a contentious issue for months. During a meeting with the National Assembly Committee on Delegated Legislation, Immigration PS Julius Bitok informed that the backlog is expected to be cleared in two weeks.

The ministry has implemented a double-shift working formula and has purchased and repaired printing machinery to speed up passport processing. According to the PS, the number of passports produced daily is about 3,600 presently with the backlog having reduced to approximately 45,000. Bitok is optimistic that the department will be able to completely clear the backlog in the next couple of weeks.

“Right now, we are producing around 3,600 passports per day. We have managed to reduce the backlog to around 45,000. We are projecting that in the next two weeks, there will be no backlog,” said the PS.

Meanwhile, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers are handling the issue of fraudsters siphoning money from innocent applicants claiming to speed up their passport processing. The Cabinet Secretary has warned the corrupt individuals and urged anyone with knowledge of similar deals to come forward. The CS has further prohibited the idlers who linger near Nyayo House, stating that only staff members and those who are looking for government services are allowed access. The ministry has posted that the security near the premises has been increased and that no one can loiter around without any reasonable explanation.