The government is using what it calls a Rapid Result Initiative (RRI) for passport collection, where Kenyans must collect their documents within 30 days after they are ready, failure to which they will be disposed of.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki last week said 87,574 passports are due for collection, with the majority at the Immigration Department headquarters in Nyayo House Nairobi.
The month-long passport collection plan will see the Immigration Department every Wednesday publish a list of all applicants whose passports are due for collection the following week.
The exercise began on Monday, September 25 and runs for 30 days.
According to the department, the names of passport applicants to be served on each day of the RRI exercise are listed on their website (www.immigration.co.ke) and X account (@ImmigrationDept).
Passports will be available for collection at the immigration office where the application was made; Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret, Nakuru, Embu and Kisii.
“For ease of service, passports will be issued to a specified number of applicants per day throughout the 30-day RRI period,” the department says.
Last week, CS Kindiki warned that applicants whose passports would be disposed of would also be required to reapply and pay a fine.
“After the RRI we will audit our system to be able to produce passports within 7 days. Our vision will eventually be to reduce the 7 days to 3 days,” he noted, adding that the Immigration Department will continue processing emergency applications within 24 hours.
Machine breakdowns have repeatedly been attributed to delayed passport processing, alongside a lack of adequate resources and corrupt elements in the Immigration Department.
In May, the department had a backlog of 120,000 applications, according to CS Kindiki, who says it has since been cleared.