22,353 Passports Collected in First Week of Rapid Results Initiative, Says Kindiki

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki has said that a total of 22,353 passports have been collected since the launch of the Rapid Results Initiate (RRI) aimed at delivering uncollected passports.

On September 25, a total of 87,574 passports lay unclaimed. However, the number was reduced to 65,101 by the close of business on Friday. The passport holders responded to the collection campaign and rushed to claim their passports. Approximately 22,353 passports have been claimed by their owners. The distribution of collected passports across various centres is as follows: Nairobi - 9,331, Mombasa - 3,754, Nakuru - 1,528, Embu - 2,426, Eldoret - 2,297, Kisumu - 1,763, and Kisii - 1,254. The RRI will continue for at least 30 days.

The initiative was launched by Interior CS to tackle the extensive delay in passport collection. To ensure the success of the initiative, the Immigration Department publishes a list of successful passport applicants every Wednesday in preparation for the scheduled collection week. As Kindiki discloses, anyone who misses the mandatory collection deadlines will face penalties.

In order to address the backlog in passport issuance that has caused widespread dissatisfaction among Kenyans, the Ministry has announced its intention to use the Disposal of Uncollected Goods Act and the Citizenship and Immigration Act to appropriately dispose of unclaimed documents. According to Kindiki, lack of funding and corruption at the Immigration Department have played their part in the current situation.

The Ministry's objective is two-fold: to improve the efficiency of the passport acquisition process and to reduce overcrowding in Nyayo House and other passport centres. Additionally, the operational hours of passport printing offices have been adjusted to maximize the quality of service delivery, commencing from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.