A rigorous operation launched last August to clean up the Immigration department at Nyayo House has failed to meet expectations.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki, who personally intensified the crackdown in February with a highly publicized raid on Nyayo House, acknowledged failure in addressing the issues affecting the passport issuance process.
Also Read – CS Kindiki on Passport Delays: “I will clean up Nyayo house once and for all”
During his appearance before the Regional Integration Committee of the National Assembly on Thursday, Kindiki stated that despite efforts to clear the backlog and reduce queues at Nyayo House, acquiring the necessary raw materials to print passports has proven to be a significant challenge. The CS highlighted that while they now have a budget to sustain their operations, the primary challenge remains obtaining booklets for passport printing.
“I regret to admit that we did not achieve the target we set as government in terms of cleaning up the department and issuing passports,” Kindiki told the committee.
“We require 3 million pamphlets every 90 days, but the people providing the material are saying they can’t meet even half of that, We wanted to print 3 million passports every 90 days in the next 2 years,” the CS added.
‘Disrespectful to Kenyans’
The Interior CS informed the committee that the current backlog stands at 1.72 million passports. However, they are exploring solutions to address the issue of Kenyans having to queue for the entire day at Nyayo House.
“It’s very disrespectful to Kenyans to make them come and crowd at Nyayo House, we will find a way of stopping it by next week somehow,” said Kindiki.
The former Tharaka Nithi Senator also informed the committee that the challenge is not only in Kenya but globally.
CS Kindiki said the Ministry is addressing the challenges, albeit at a slow pace. He mentioned their intention to engage the National Intelligence Service (NIS) to assist in finding solutions to these challenges.
“We have even sought the services of NIS in dealing with vendor wars that could be affecting this matter,” he said.
Kindiki also lamented corruption issues that persist within the immigration department, while assuring members that efforts are underway to eradicate this vice.
“We are prosecuting over 17 members of the staff, one of them even got a heart attack when we arrested him…they have been taking advantage of the situation to collect bribes.”
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