Mombasa, Kisumu, Kisii Targeted As Crackdown On Passport Brokers Goes Countrywide
The ongoing assault on those who have aided corruption in the Immigration department, particularly in the issuance of passports, will be extended to regional offices outside Nairobi.
Thursday in Mombasa, Immigration and Citizen Services PS Julius Bitok stated that the operation, which has so far resulted in the arrest of four suspected brokers at Nyayo House, will be expanded to other cities and towns including Mombasa, Kisumu, and Kisii.
“The crackdown around Nyayo house will be extended to other cities and towns, including Mombasa, Kisumu, Kisii, and many others where there are complaints from Kenyans who are unable to receive services because they are suspected of aiding in corruption,” the PS said.
Dr. Bitok reaffirmed that the government is committed to purging Nyayo House of swindlers and intermediaries who are suspected of collaborating with Immigration officers to extort bribes from applicants seeking passports and other services.
“In addition to Immigration Services, Nyayo House houses numerous government agencies… “I want to assure Kenyans that we will make Nyayo House a place where you can expect prompt service without having to know anyone or pay bribes,” he said.
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In addition, the Immigration PS assured that the backlog in passport processing will be resolved within two weeks, noting that approximately 3,600 passports are printed daily.
Currently, we produce approximately 3,600 passports per day. We have reduced the backlog of passports from approximately 100,000 to approximately 45,000. During a conference with the National Assembly Committee on Delegated Legislation in Mombasa, a public servant predicted that there would be no backlog within the next two weeks.
With the advent of new printers and the implementation of the proposed private-public partnership, he added, the waiting period for passports will be reduced to less than a week and eventually lead to the introduction of express services.
Directorate of Criminal Investigation agents apprehended four men on suspicion of soliciting bribes inside Nyayo House on Friday.
The mobile phones of the four suspects, Josphat Khamandi Manyonyi, Howard Tsimbagi alias Button, Ahmed Ibrahim Sheikh, and Hassan Mohamed Hosman, were confiscated as detectives sought evidence to prosecute them for defrauding naive applicants.
Mombasa, Kisumu, Kisii Targeted As Crackdown On Passport Brokers Goes Countrywide
