Gov't denies issuing Kenyan passports to Sudan's RSF leaders

It is a document that embodies the pride of a nation and serves as a gateway to countries across the globe. However, in recent weeks, the Kenyan passport has been at the centre of a brewing international controversy.

Allegations surfaced in February that the Kenyan passport was being issued to individuals of questionable standing, including RSF paramilitary members from war-torn Sudan and a Zimbabwean tycoon with a criminal record and who is under international scrutiny.

Initially, the government’s response was a wall of silence. Even when appearing before parliamentary committees, officials maintained a firm no to the claims.

On Thursday, Principal Secretary for Immigration, Dr Belio Kipsang, addressed the elephant in the room, insisting that the matter has reached the highest levels of governmental engagement.

“We still have critical discussion, and my CS and CS for Foreign Affairs are engaged and seized of those issues, mainly on those issues of those passports, and I do not want to go into that,” said Dr Kipsang.

Despite the swirling rumours and leaked documents that ignited the saga, the PS was quick to dismiss the validity of the evidence currently in the public domain

“If you clearly looked at that document, it never indicated that those guys were having passports, and as I said earlier, this is an issue of national interest,” he added.

At stake is more than just a piece of paper. Currently ranked 68th globally and top ten in Africa, the Kenyan passport’s power is a result of years of vetting and security protocols. Any breach in its issuance could lead to a downgrade in its international standing and the loss of visa-free privileges for millions of Kenyans.

“We have reason to protect our passport... it is the best in the East African region. We have very good reason to protect the integrity of our identification documents... it is a cardinal duty.”

“We have not issued any of our documents to individuals who do not meet the criteria of issuance. Anybody who may have been issued docs and people who we have issued our docs are people who meet the requirements,” Kipsang said.

As the Ministry fights to clear its name on the passport front, it is simultaneously racing against time on the domestic front. An accelerated National ID issuance campaign is currently underway across the forty-seven counties.

The goal is ambitious: to get 11 million people issued with IDs by July next year. For the government, the ID is the foundation of the democratic process. For the citizens, it is their identity. But as the passport saga lingers, the question remains: How airtight are the gates that guard Kenya’s most sensitive documents?