President William Ruto is set to launch the Garissa passport office after the holy month of Ramadhan, bringing essential passport services closer to the people of Northeastern Kenya. Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki revealed this groundbreaking news on Tuesday, marking the establishment of the eighth passport center in the country.
“Garissa passport office to be opened by President William Ruto after Ramadhan,” announced CS Kindiki’.
During his address in Garissa, CS Kindiki hinted at forthcoming guidelines from the President that will streamline the issuance of passports, IDs, and other citizenship documents for Northeastern residents, eliminating past bureaucratic hurdles and inconveniences.
The inauguration of this new passport office comes at a critical time when delays in passport issuance have plagued the government, prompting Immigration PS Julius Bitok to urge Kenyans to promptly collect 58,330 unclaimed passports scattered across various Immigration offices nationwide.
“We urge applicants who have already been notified that their passports are ready to collect them as soon as possible to free up storage space,” emphasized PS Bitok, highlighting the urgency of the situation.
With Nairobi leading the tally of uncollected passports at 24,613, and other counties like Embu, Kisumu, Mombasa, Eldoret, Nakuru, and Kisii following suit, the opening of the Garissa passport office signifies a significant step towards enhancing service delivery and addressing the pressing needs of Kenyan citizens.
