Nairobi News

Four suspects linked to the delay of issuance of passports at Nyayo House have so far been arrested after Interior Cabinet Secretary Prof Kithure Kindiki promised to take action.

The four were arrested by detectives attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) immigration in the ongoing crackdown on corrupt officials at the Immigration department.

A detective privy to the ongoing investigations told Nairobi News that some officials at the Immigration department are being investigated on their links with the arrested suspects.

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“The four have provided information that will assist get to the bottom of the whole mess,” said the source who spoke Nairobi News in confidence.

The arrests come after the acting Director General of Immigration Services, Ms Evelyn Chelugut, made changes in the department this week in an effort to address delays in processing and issuance of passports that is being experienced in the country.

Ms Chelugut also ordered the introduction of day and night shifts in the department which will run throughout the week with counters being set aside for emergency cases.

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The development came after Prof Kindiki vowed to clean up the operations of the Immigration department.

“We will seal off Nyayo House and name it a scene of crime. How do Kenyans cue from 6am? It won’t be business as usual. We must clean up Nyayo house,” Kindiki told the National Assembly.

Prof Kindiki also said some of Kenya’s ongoing problems, such as insecurity and terrorism, can be traced back to corruption at Nyayo House.

He stated that plans are in the works to issue passports in 7 days, and that in future issuance time will be reduced to 3 days and 24 hours in the event of an emergency.

Also read: Night shifts introduced at Nyayo House to address passport delays