Interior CS Matiangi when he launched a passport issuance centre in Nakuru on June 12. Photo/FILE.
NAIROBI, Kenya Jun 22 – The government has moved to assure Kenyans that the issuance of the new generation e-passports will continue even after the deadline set for use of the old generation travel document.
In a statement issued on Friday, the Immigration Department noted that the set deadline of August 31, 2019 was for the validity of using the old-generation passport.
“The long queues witnessed is due to a misconception that people will not be allowed to apply for the e-passport after the end of August. These are the fears we as Government want to allay,” the statement signed by the department’s Director General Alex Muteshi said.
The clarification comes as relief to many Kenyans who have endured long hours of queuing to get the new-generation e-passport.
The government has also issued a disclaimer regarding the breakdown of printing machines.
“We have taken contingency measures to ensure that this does not happen through regular servicing. When servicing the machines, printing has to be stopped for only a short while before immediate resumption.”
Last week, the Immigration Department rolled out the issuance of e-passport in four new locations locally.
Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi launched the first centre in Nakuru on Wednesday with other stations including Kisii, Eldoret and Embu where at least 1,500 passports will be processed daily.
Officials said that Kenyans will get the services near their areas to ease pressure in Nairobi.
The services were also rolled out at Kenyan embassies in Pretoria, London, Paris, Dubai, Washington and Beijing which will start operations at the end of this month.
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