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Woes facing Kenyans applying for passports are far from over after the government advised those in need of the travel document to consider getting the 50-page booklets, which are plenty at the Immigration Department.

The government admitted that there have been challenges in the supply of the highly sought 34-page passports attributing the shortage to slow delivery of the booklets by the supplier.

Without giving the timelines, Government Spokesman Isaac Mwaura during his weekly media briefing said that a consignment of the booklets is on the way and will be arriving in the country soon.

“The documents are usually printed outside the country for security reasons leaving only the applicant’s Bio-data page to be printed locally upon application. A consignment of the booklets (34 pages) is on the way and will land in the country soon and the problem will be a thing of the past. In the meantime, those with urgent needs for a passport are advised to apply for the 50-page passports which are in plenty,” Mwaura said.

Frequent travellers

The 34-page passport, which costs Sh4,550, is preferred by non-frequent travelers, while the 50 and 66 pages which cost Sh6,050 and Sh7,500 respectively are a pick for frequent travelers including businessmen, politicians and diplomats. Lost and mutilated passports cost Sh12,050 and Sh10,050 respectively while a diplomatic one goes for Sh7,550.

Sources at Nyayo House intimated to the People Daily that since Friday last week, the Immigration Department embarked on issuing 50-page passports to people who had initially applied for the 34-page document some of which were at the printing stage.

Desperate applicants of the few-page document are being forced to top up Sh1,550 to the initial amount meaning they are paying Sh50 more than those who directly applied for the 50-page booklet.

“The backlog is still persistent. People have to apply for the passport afresh since the foolproof system has locked their details and cannot be edited. It is easier for anybody coming to apply for a passport to pick the 50 pages as that will save them from the tedious process,” the official said.

Upgraded documents

The source revealed that once an applicant pays for the upgrade of the document, he goes back to square one of the application process which includes retrieval of hard-copy files.

Once the files are traced the applicant fills out new forms and undergoes the usual document verification process before the biometrics can be taken.

A week ago, Mwaura said that the government had purchased a new machine for printing passports hinting that plans were underway for Interior Cabinet Secretary Kindiki Kithure to launch it but the official could not confirm its presence in the Immigration premises.

“Even if the new machine was installed yesterday, without the booklets, how will that help reduce the backlog? We are aware that the CS (Kindiki) comes to his office incognito about twice a week, but ever since the passport issue went full-blown, he has never set his foot in our offices to address these challenges,” he said.

But it is not the passports issue that is giving President William Ruto a headache; Mwaura said that a court order barring the government from the production of third generation identity cards has caused a backlog of over 600,000 new applications at the civil registration offices countrywide.

“I affirm that once the appeal is granted the government will embark on massive production of the vital identification documents to clear the backlog within the shortest time possible,” Mwaura assured adding that some other 684,000 IDs lie uncollected by the applicants across the country.

Meanwhile, the government has warned that parents who refuse to take their children to school risk facing prosecution as per the Children’s Act. According to Mwaura, this year alone, the government has sponsored 14,426 children throughout the country under the Elimu Scholarship Programme.