Written By Lisa Murimi
Despite the Department of Immigration’s efforts to streamline passport collection, a substantial backlog persists. As of August 13, nearly 97,675 processed passports remain unclaimed across eight application centers in Kenya.
This issue continues even after a public notice issued on August 1, which encouraged citizens to pick up their passports. Since the notice, only 12,384 passports have been collected.
Immigration Principal Secretary Julius Bitok attributed the backlog to both administrative challenges and public indifference.
“To ease passport delivery, we have suspended the requirement for appointment bookings,” Bitok said. Yet, many remain unresponsive, exacerbating storage issues at the Department.
The situation is particularly severe in Nairobi, where over 50,000 passports are waiting. Other affected regions include Kisumu, Embu, Mombasa, and Nakuru.
The recent acquisition of 100,000 new passport booklets underscores the urgency of managing this backlog and ensuring continuous production.
Bitok warned that uncollected passports would be disposed of if not picked up within six months to alleviate storage constraints.
The Department’s efforts also include a Migrant Labour counter aimed at expediting applications for those seeking employment abroad.
Despite these measures, the persistent backlog highlights a significant disconnect between the Department’s initiatives and public engagement.
