Kindiki warns Kenyans over passport collection delays
The government is considering punishing citizens who have yet to collect their passports.
Interior Cabinet Secretary (CS) Kithure Kindiki on September 12, 2023, urged Kenyans to collect their travel documents at their respective immigration offices.
Kindiki who was speaking in Embu during a fact-finding visit to Eastern Regional Immigration Offices and said they had discovered there were a number of uncollected passports in almost all the offices across the country.
“On Wednesday we will start a nationwide rapid results initiative on the collection of passports and we will make it mandatory for collection of passports within a specified time that we will announce,” Kindiki said.
He noted that the Nairobi office has 20,000 to 30,000 uncollected passports while Embu has 6,000.
He said the government would make it mandatory for all those who had applied for passports to collect them within the period to be announced on Wednesday.
“We will even publish those passport numbers and the names of the applicants telling them they must come and collect them,” he said.
“More measures will be announced for those who decline. You cannot put us under pressure as immigration officers to give you a passport then when it is printed you don’t come for it.”
The CS added that for those who will ultimately fail to collect theirs, the law will be applied in terms of finding a way of disposing of them.
“Will publish the passport numbers and names of holders who have not collected the travel documents after printing,” he added.
The warning comes days after the CS made at least four impromptu visits to Nyayo House in a span of less than a month.
During the last visit, Kindiki fired a warning to idlers at Nyayo House, saying it would only be accessible to applicants and staff members.
He had earlier announced an anti-corruption crackdown that would see boda boda riders banned from entering Nyayo House for allegedly facilitating corruption and exploiting Kenyans seeking passport services.
“No person will be allowed to hang around Nyayo House, and being a facility processing vital security documents, access will only be granted to applicants with the necessary documents and staff members,” he said.
Kindiki urged applicants to be cautious when seeking services to avoid being duped.
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