Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has urged residents of Kisii County to collect their unclaimed passports, stressing the importance of accessing essential documentation.

Speaking during a Jukwaa la Usalama working tour on Friday, September 12, 2025, Murkomen revealed that 3,346 passports remain uncollected at the Kisii Sub-Regional Immigration Office, which processes about 70 passports daily.

“This morning, as part of our Jukwaa la Usalama working tour of Kisii County, I assessed the passport, ID and civil registration services at the County Commissioner’s office. I call upon the people who are yet to collect their passports to do so as 3,346 copies are uncollected,” Murkomen said in a post on X.

His call is part of a broader initiative to strengthen civil registration and streamline government services. Murkomen noted that delays in collection risk undermining efforts to improve access to travel and identification documents.

Linking peace and service delivery

The Kisii visit came just a day after the CS extended an olive branch to individuals holding illegal firearms in Migori County, urging them to surrender the weapons as part of a targeted disarmament operation.

“Ahead of this disarmament, which will be targeted and comprehensive, I extend an olive branch to individuals with illegal guns to surrender them,” he stated, while also cautioning politicians against inciting violence.

Murkomen’s efforts build on earlier gains under Operation Maliza Uhalifu in the Kerio Valley, which has significantly reduced banditry. “Operation Maliza Uhalifu has recorded remarkable success in silencing guns and restoring peace,” he said, pointing to the broader government drive to ensure stability while improving service delivery.

Expanding services

In Kisii, Murkomen emphasised reforms aimed at improving documentation access. He commended the removal of fees for initial ID applications and mobile registration in schools, which have driven national ID coverage above 90 per cent across the county’s 11 sub-counties.

“The scrapping of fees charged on initial ID application and mobile ID registration in schools have seen an increase in the number of people registering for the vital document,” he said. Murkomen added that plans are underway to expand civil registration services to the remaining four constituencies by the end of the year.