Tens of Thousands of Passports Remain Uncollected Despite Government Efforts

The Department of Immigration is struggling with a massive backlog of uncollected passports, despite recent reforms aimed at expediting the collection process. As of August 13, nearly 97,675 passports are still waiting to be picked up across eight application centers. This follows a public notice on August 1 urging citizens to retrieve their documents.

While 12,384 passports have been collected since the notice, the backlog persists. Immigration Principal Secretary Julius Bitok announced that the requirement for appointment bookings has been suspended to streamline delivery. However, the backlog continues, with over 50,000 unclaimed passports in Nairobi alone, and significant numbers also pending in Kisumu, Embu, Mombasa, and Nakuru.