Gov’t pressured to respond to passport scandal involving foreign nationals

Advocate Peter Wahinya has written to the Director General of Immigration Services at the Ministry of Interior and National Administration seeking information on the process used to acquire the passports, the officers and offices involved, and whether any investigation has been initiated into the fiasco.

The government remains mum even as Kenyans express outrage and condemn the alleged actions.

Social media in Kenya has been a hive of activity following revelations that the Department of Immigration issued Kenyan passports to foreign nationals of questionable background, including individuals linked to Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and a Zimbabwean businessman with a controversial history.

Despite the public uproar, the government’s response has been notably absent. Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, who assumed office with promises of transparency, has not responded to queries regarding the expedited processing of the passports.

Wahinya, through his law firm Wahinya Advocates, has moved to court corridors in a bid to compel accountability, formally serving a demand letter to the Director General of Immigration Services.

Invoking Article 35 of the Constitution, the firm is seeking details on the application processes for individuals at the centre of the controversy, including Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivayo and several Sudanese nationals allegedly linked to the RSF.

The advocate is demanding copies of all applications, supporting documents, and payment receipts for 28 named individuals, as well as internal correspondence or directives that may have led to the waiver or bypassing of standard vetting timelines.

He is also seeking any internal investigation reports or audit findings initiated after the matter came to light.

Under normal procedures, a foreign national applying for Kenyan citizenship or a passport must undergo rigorous vetting by the National Intelligence Service and demonstrate years of legal residency. However, the current saga suggests that these steps may have been bypassed entirely for the individuals in question.

The situation has drawn sharp contrast with the experience of ordinary Kenyans, who often endure long waiting periods to obtain passports, while the 28 individuals, largely of Sudanese and Zimbabwean origin, are alleged to have received documents through irregular channels.

The issuance of passports is a high-security process involving multiple layers of oversight within the Ministry of Interior and National Administration.

At the top of this structure is the Interior Cabinet Secretary, followed by the Principal Secretary for Immigration, who oversees administrative and budgetary functions.

The Director General of Immigration Services is responsible for the actual issuance of passports and permits, while vetting committees conduct identity verification and security checks.

As the 21-day statutory window for a response begins, questions remain over whether the government will provide answers or if the alleged special clearance processes will remain undisclosed.