State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary Julius Bitok has announced government plans to relocate the department’s headquarters from Nyayo House to a more convenient location.
In a statement on Friday, September 27, Bitok said that the government is also considering transforming the Directorate into a Service.
He emphasized that this move aims to address the corruption that has long been associated with the current headquarters.
“The history and the ills that have traditionally been associated with Nyayo House is not something we are proud of,” the PS said.
“We are having conversations on whether we need to move out to signify a commitment to do things differently.”
Corruption Rooted in Nyayo House
The PS emphasized that the Directorate of Immigration is keen to shed off its long history of corruption by embracing transparency.
At the same time, he appealed to applicants who are yet to collect the over 90,000 passports to do so to decongest storage space.
Nyayo House has found it difficult to shed off its nefarious history, continuing to plague Kenyans who have often complained of a deeply rooted culture of corruption in public offices.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki has been compelled by pressure from all corners of the society, including the National Assembly, to commit himself to cracking down on Nyayo House graft cartels.
“I will clean up Nyayo House once and for all. We will seal it off and declare it a crime scene. The corruption there has a direct relation with some of our ongoing problems, such as insecurity and terrorism,” said Prof Kindiki in 2023.
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PS Bitok Says Govt Will Deploy 300 Immigration Officers
Bitok also said that the government will deploy more 300 immigration officers to border posts in a bid to beef up efforts to prevent the spread of Mpox in Kenya.
However, the said officers will be expected to work closely with the Ministry of Health and other government agencies to ensure visitors are screened for the virus.
“Those that will be sent to our land, sea and air entry points will be joining a multi-sectorial team of Health, Security, Agriculture, Kenya Revenue Authority and others who have been tasked with protecting our borders from infected visitors,” he said.
The PS was speaking after presiding over the graduation of 300 newly recruited immigration officers at the Kenya School of Government in Kabarnet, Baringo County.
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The graduates who underwent a 5-week intense training in immigration processes, security, intelligence, communications, protocol and health will also be deployed to passports issuance, permits, electronic travel authorization (eTA) and other service sections.
On her part, the Director General of Immigration, Evelyn Cheluget, said the training curriculum for the recruits was tailored to develop versatile officers who appreciate the link between immigration and national security.
“We have a policy of continuous rotation of officers within the various service sections. We want officers who understand the nexus between what happens in these sections and wider security implications for our country,” Evelyn Cheluget said.
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