The Kenyan government through the Ministry of Affairs and Diaspora on Wednesday, May 8, announced the delivery of hundreds of passports to the United States of America by air.
The passports were from Kenyans in the diaspora who had made the applications a month ago.
Diaspora Affairs Principal Secretary Roseline Njogu credited the record issuance time of the passports to President William Ruto’s administration’s promise to prioritise challenges facing Kenyans in the diaspora.
She added that the Mobile Consular Service (MCS) which decentralises service delivery in foreign missions was effective.
“The first batch of the passports you applied for during the Mobile Consular Service last month has already arrived in Washington DC,” PS Njogu said.
According to Njogu, the feat was achieved through close collaboration between the State Department and the Immigration Department.
She further thanked her colleague Julius Bitok who heads the State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services in the Ministry of Interior for facilitating the process.
While previously Kenyans could only apply for passports in Washington DC, the Mobile Consular Service has made it possible to make applications in major cities across the United States.
During the March 2024 Mobile Consular Service programs, Kenyans living in the US were able to apply for their passports in Boston Massachusetts, Houston Texas, and Seattle Washington.
In Kenya, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki has directed that the issuance of passports should be done within 21 days from the date of successful application.
To that end, the government has purchased new printing machines making it possible to clear a 700,000 passport backlog.
Additionally, Kindiki has promised to weed out immigration officials who extort Kenyans seeking services from the department.
