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Government To Dispose of Uncollected Passports
Kenya’s Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki Tuesday revealed that the country’s passport backlog is now estimated at 120,000 applications, up from the 42,000 reported in May.
He attributed the backlog to a combination of factors, including lack of resources, corruption, and a delay in repairing the passport printer.
Kindiki also disclosed that there are 87,574 uncollected passports at immigration offices across the country.
He warned that the government will invoke Section 5 of the Disposal of Uncollected Goods Act and Section 31 of the Citizenship and Immigration Act to invalidate uncollected passports after 30 days from September 25, 2023.
“All applicants whose passports are ready must collect them. Those who will not collect their passports as scheduled, after the expiry of the notice, we will treat the uncollected documents as uncollected goods and therefore we will withdraw and dispose off the documents at the expiry of the requite notice period,” he said.
Applicants who fail to collect their passports within the stipulated time frame will have to re-apply and pay penalties to get new documents.
Kindiki said the government is well on course to resolve the passport backlog and that the Immigration Department will continue with the ongoing night and day printing until they acquire more equipment to speed up the process.
He added that those who fail to collect the passports will have to re-apply again and pay penalties to get new documents.
Kindiki said the RRI which will commence on September 25 is aimed at ensuring all the passports are collected from the immigration offices across the country.
“The passports must be collected within 30 days commencing 25th of September 2023,” he said.
Out of the uncollected copies, 36,170 passports were reported to be at Nyayo House, 10,409 in Embu, 9,938 in Eldoret, 9,515 in Kisumu, 8,023 in Nakuru, 7,971 in Kisii and 5,424 in Mombasa.
Kindiki said that the government is well on course to resolve the passport printing backlog adding the Immigration Department will continue with the ongoing night and day printing until they acquire more equipment to speed up the process.
Kindiki said the Immigration Department will continue processing emergency applications within 24 hours.
Kenya’s New Digital ID to Be Voluntary
Following a meeting in Nairobi Wednesday, the Kenya government and civil society committed to undertake more public education to raise awareness on the proposed digital ID.
The PS for Immigration and Citizen Services, Julius Bitok, said the objective is to get input from the civil society and make the process all-inclusive.
Civil society representatives, led by Amnesty International Executive Director Irungu Houghton, said they regard such forums as critical in discussing minimum requirements for an effective and necessary digitization of the national identity.
Houghton said human rights organizations are keen to ensure the design of the unique personal identifier and the 3rd generation ID is based on three key principles: data privacy, inclusion of marginalized communities, and public trust.
Bitok said the existing registration and Identity ecosystem has been in place for nearly 30 years and is outdated and in need of modernization to make it compliant with international standards.
He reiterated that the new digital ID will be voluntary except for first-time applicants. The current IDs will continue to be recognized as valid identification documents alongside the new card.
However, the PS said the new card will include superior security and technology features.
Kindiki Orders Shoot-to-Kill Against Bandits
In a bid to curb escalating insecurity in Baringo County, Kenya, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki Friday issued a shoot to kill order against any bandits targeting security officers or security camps.
Speaking while commissioning a General Service Unit (GSU) camp in Tiaty Constituency, Baringo County, Kindiki said any bandit shooting those who have been bestowed duty to protect Kenyans will be dealt with ruthlessly.
He also reiterated the government’s commitment to ending insecurity in the region, noting that several more camps will be installed in Tiaty to quell incessant banditry in the area.
Tiaty Member of Parliament William Kamket welcomed the commissioning of the GSU camp and called for the government to allocate more administrative units to reclaim areas that bandits had taken as their safe haven.
He further called for the deployment of National Police Reservists (NPRs) to complement the GSU officers in tracking down bandits who still reign in the area causing havoc.
Kindiki promised that the government would enlist NPRs in Tiaty and West Pokot on condition that they surrender illegal firearms.
The Interior CS warned that the government would not hesitate to take punitive action against bandits who continue to terrorize residents of the region.
This comes after three people were killed yesterday in the latest banditry attack in Baragoi, Samburu County.
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