Interior Interior and National Administration Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki has acknowledged improvements in the passport application process within the Immigration Department.

During his visit to the Nyayo House-based department, Kindiki reported that queues have shortened, and the processing speed has increased as part of efforts to address pending passport applications.

Kithure Kindiki attributes

He attributed these improvements to operational reforms that he initiated over the past three weeks. He Immigration Department is committed to clearing the backlog of pending passports to facilitate faster processing for future applications.

“The queues at Nyayo House are now shorter, and the movement is faster as the Immigration Department works to process all outstanding passport applications,” he stated.

“The tremendous improvement is a result of operational reforms initiated in the last three weeks. Immigration officers are working round the clock to clear the backlog and eventually ensure all future applications are processed without delay,” he added.

In late August, Kindiki had attributed delays in passport processing to widespread corruption at Nyayo House.

During his appearance before the Regional Integration Committee at Parliament Buildings on August 24, he admitted that corrupt officials within the immigration department were accepting bribes for government services that should be provided free of charge.

He assured the MPs that efforts were underway to address this issue, and if necessary, Nyayo House would be sealed and declared a crime scene.

Kithure Kindiki confirmation

Delays in passport processing had been a growing concern, with the immigration department initially attributing the backlog to a faulty printer that affected the production of 34, 50, and 66-page booklets. Kindiki informed the committee that the current passport backlog stands at 58,000.

The Department of Immigration and Citizen Services typically processes around 5,000 passports daily. Kindiki stated that the department aims to issue passports within seven days and is working towards processing them within three days in the future, with emergency cases being processed within 24 hours.

Regarding identity cards, Kindiki mentioned that Kenyans will continue to wait 21 days for their issuance.