The acting Director General of Immigration Services Evelyn Cheluget on Monday said that the department has introduced a raft of new measures to improve the processing of Kenyan passports.
Addressing immigration officers at Nyayo House, Cheluget expressed optimism that the changes will bolster the processing and issuance of travel documents and effectively address the long-standing delays that have sparked agitation from the public.
Cheluget said that beginning this week, staff members will be increased and some officers will be deployed abroad.
Counters will also be set aside for emergency cases, day and night shifts shall be introduced from Monday to Sunday and applications will now be received from 7:00 am to 8:30 pm.
Other remedies include acquiring new booklets, repairing and purchasing new machines that will allow for 24/7 passport printing.
“We are working hard, the passport section has been working on shifts, we have dedicated counters for urgent cases and all regional heads to boost staff in the urgent counters,” said Chegulet.
This comes amid a backlog that has made Kenyans question why the Immigration Department takes ages to process passports, a process that should take 10 to 15 days.
The Directorate of Immigration Services on Friday defended itself, noting that in the period between July 13 and August 2023, Nyayo House printed 96,310 passports.
Out of these 53,750 were printed by personnel working the day shift, while the remaining 42,560 were processed during the night shifts.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki fired a warning at the department, vowing to clean up Nyayo House once and for all.
When he appeared before the Parliamentary committee on Thursday, Kindiki linked the delays to corruption and he will find a remedy to the malady.
“I will clean up Nyayo House once and for all. We will seal off Nyayo House and name it a scene of crime. How do Kenyans cue from 6 a.m.? It won’t be business as usual. We must clean up Nyayo house,” said Kindiki.
According to Kindiki, the passport backlog currently stands at 58,000, with the Department of Immigration and Citizen Services processing approximately 5,000 passports daily.
He also stated that plans are in the works to issue passports in 7 days and will be reduced to 3 days, and even 24 hours in the event of an emergency.
