The government has warned that passports that stay uncollected after their stipulated period of collection will be disposed of and the owners penalised in accordance with the law.
Interior CS Kithure Kindiki said on Tuesday this is part of a 30-day Rapid Results Initiative for delivery of uncollected passports at the Immigration Department's at Nyayo House Headquarters and all regional offices.
He said 87,574 passports are now ready but remain uncollected.
For ease of collection, the CS said names of applicants whose passports will be due for collection the following week will be published every Wednesday to streamline the collection process.
"Persons who fail to pick up their documents within the stipulated period and at the expiry of the due notice will have their passports disposed of in accordance with the law and penalised when making a future application," Kindiki said.
He said delivery of uncollected passports is an integral part of addressing the historical backlog and to avert a recurrence at the Immigration Department.
The Interior CS has stepped up efforts to eradicate corruption at the Immigration Department following public outcry over delayed processing of the travel documents.
The uproar prompted Parliament to summon him for an explanation where Kindiki admitted that corruption was endemic at the Immigration department but vowed to deal with the cartels.
Kenyans who have made applications for passports since the massive surgery was initiated have acknowledged that the turnaround period has greatly improved and the process a lot less hectic after the Immigration Department introduced 24-hour shifts
The department currently prints about 5,000 passports daily but Kindiki said orders have been placed for new printers that will triple or quadruple the number.
