Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki, on Friday, stated that he launched a crackdown on government officials accused of slowing down the issuance of passports.
In a press statement sent to Kenyans.co.ke, the CS added that the operation launched today morning would lead to the arrest of corrupt officials at the ministry.
Kindiki noted that those found culpable will be fired and prosecuted in court.
He explained that corruption would not be allowed to derail Kenyans who were seeking urgent documents to travel for medication, education and leisure.
"Beginning this morning, a crackdown has been commenced to identify all corrupt officials. Those found culpable will be removed from service and held personally accountable by prosecution and surcharged.
"I respectfully appeal for a little more patience from the people of Kenya to conclusively resolve this matter," read the statement in part.
On the other hand, he explained that the systematic delays had been occasioned by debts owed to suppliers and poor investments in the passport printers.
"The prevailing state of affairs is inexcusable, considering that it is the right of every Kenyan to acquire citizenship documents, including travel documents. As the cabinet secretary on whose role issuance of passports falls, I take responsibility for the slow pace of reforms, and the prevailing systemic inefficiencies.
"The government undertakes to conclusively resolve this matter and create efficient and timely service delivery in the shortest time possible. Arrangements have been made to secure the required funds and settle the outstanding supplier debts," he stated.
Kenyans have been experiencing passport delays in recent months with some having to wait for the travel documents for over six months.
As a solution, the government procured new printing machines to speed up the production of new passports and clear the existing backlog.
Notably, the directive by Kindiki comes days after reports emerged that President William Ruto put Kindiki and his Ministry on notice over the passport delays during the recent government retreat in Naivasha.
