The government has declared its intention to take tough action against passport brokers and their associates who are connected with a racket of issuing passports to other parts of the country.

Immigration and Citizen Services PS Julius Bitok said the crackdown would be extended to other cities and towns, including Mombasa, Kisumu, and Kisii.

“The crackdown that is around Nyayo house will be extended to other cities and towns where there are complaints from Kenyans that are not able to get services because they’re people who are suspected to be abetting corruption,” Bitok said.

He said the government was determined to rid Nyayo House of conmen and middlemen who are suspected to be working with Immigration officers to extort bribes from applicants seeking passports and other services.

Bitok said the crackdown was part of the government’s efforts to make Nyayo House a more efficient and transparent place to do business.

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“Besides Immigration Services, Nyayo House hosts many other government offices… I want to assure Kenyans that we are going to make Nyayo House a place where you can expect to be served diligently without having to know anyone or parting with bribes,” he said.


Last Friday, DCI officers arrested four men inside Nyayo House over suspected soliciting of bribes.

The suspects’ phones were confiscated as the officers sought evidence to support prosecution for defrauding unsuspecting applicants.

Bitok said the crackdown would continue until all passport brokers and their accomplices were brought to book.

He also said the government was working to clear the backlog of passports that had accumulated over the past few years.

“Right now, we are producing around 3600 passports per day. We have managed to reduce the backlog that was around 100,000 passports to around 45,000. We are projecting that in the next two weeks, there will be no backlog,” Bitok said.

He added that with the arrival of new printers and the implementation of the proposed private-public-partnership, the waiting period for passports would be cut down to within a week and eventually lead to express services.

“We have ordered for new printers and enough booklets for Kenyans. Going forward, applying, and getting passports will take you a maximum of seven days. We believe it will be possible to get passports within three days. We going to introduce express services to ensure that Kenyans get passports within the shortest time possible,” Bitok said.


Interior CS Kithurre Kindiki late toured Nyayo House and warned that it will not be business as usual at the passport printing center and Immigration offices, warning brokers and those demanding bribes to process passports that their days are numbered.

"No person will be allowed to hang around Nyayo House, and being a facility processing vital security documents, access will only be granted to applicants with the necessary documents and staff members," Kindiki said.

He added, "To facilitate an orderly, timeous, and responsive processing of passports and other citizenship documents, special desks have been established to fast track all emergency applications, including those of persons seeking medical care, academic opportunities and job openings that have clear deadlines and have presented the necessary supporting documents."