Eldoret gets new centre for passports

A new station for issuing passports has been set up in Eldoret.

While commissioning the system, Immigration minister Otieno Kajwang said this was in line with the government’s plans to devolve passport issuance.

Other that the passport centres in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu and now Eldoret, the government aims to establish others in Garissa, Nakuru and Embu.

Mr Kajwang said all the stations would be interlinked through a wide area network to enable online consultations and real time supervision.

Such a system would ensure that unwanted people, as it happened with radical Jamaican Islamic preacher Sheikh Abdullah al Faisal, do not enter the country through border points.

“We chose Eldoret because of its strategic location in the western borderline that serves Uganda, Sudan, Rwanda and the Congo.

Eastern Rift Valley region deputy Provincial Commissioner Wanyama Musiambo said the centre would cut down on time and expenses of travelling to Nairobi and Kisumu.

He said the population in the region had risen considerably, to peak at about 500,000 people in Eldoret Municipality alone during the day.

The minister said the government aims to facilitate people in the region to reap the full benefits of the East African common market.

“You cannot do this without recognised travel documents,” he added.

He said the government had upgraded immigration services at Eldoret and posted qualified officers to the area and it was now up to the public to utilise the services.