Several officers in the immigration department at Nyayo House have been arrested in the new crackdown against passport cartels.
Speaking on Thursday, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki confirmed that a total of 17 Nyayo House cartels from the immigration department were arrested in the intelligence-led investigation.
“Detectives are also zeroing in on more culprits in a renewed push to dismantle the complex cartel that has long frustrated the reform efforts at Nyayo House and other immigration offices across the country.”
Also Read: Popular Haiti Gang Leader Killed In Shootout As Violence Intensify
This comes after Kindiki announced a fresh crackdown at Nyayo House and affirmed the government’s commitment to rid the Immigration Department of corruption and hold those found culpable to account.
“Those found culpable will [be] removed from service and held personally accountable through prosecution and surcharges.”
The Cabinet Secretary also said that the government is also taking steps to address budgetary constraints that have over time partly contributed to delays in the processing and issuance of documents at the Immigration Department.
Kindiki added that the government has already settled the Sh380 million pending bills that had contributed to the backlog at the State Department with National Treasury allowing Immigration Department to retain a percentage of its revenue to address its budgetary constraints.
This comes after the government received additional 112,700 passport printing booklets to ease delays witnessed in the issuance of the passports to clear the backlog according to Immigration PS.
Also Read: Gov’t Offers Solution For Kenyans Who Want Urgent Passport Processing
“They comprise 92,400,50-page (B-series) and 20,300,66-page (C-series) which we received last evening. This is addition to 50,000, 50-page booklets received last week.”
Applicants with pending 34-page passports who have an urgent need to travel have been advised to upgrade their applications to the 50-page booklet through the eCitizen portal.