Govt to install advanced security systems at JKIA to 'profile passengers'

The government is set to roll out what has been dubbed as the Advanced Passenger Information (API) system as well as e-Gates at the country’s entry points for easy profiling of passengers and convenience.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Prof. Kithure Kindiki, in a statement to newsrooms on Saturday, said the APIS and e-Gates will be critical in boosting the country’s security and eliminating ques as passengers await their immigration stamp.

CS Kindiki revealed that the APIS and e-Gates will be installed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) as well as all ports of entry.

“The Ministry is at an advanced stage of acquiring and installing an Advanced Passenger Information System  (APIS) that will be integrated into the international immigration system to enable I to profile passengers travelling in and out of Kenya and even those transiting through the Country before they land here,” Kindiki said.

“APIS will be supplemented with the installation of e-Gates at JKIA and our Ports of Entry. Besides being a major boost in assisting our immigration and security endeavours, this APIS system and e-Gates will eliminate queues at our immigration counters.”

Prof. Kindiki also noted that the Kenya Kwanza administration was also working to improve the electronic surveillance at the ports’ gates to be able to detect prohibited items.

He at the same time reiterated the recently announced  Unique Personal Identifier (UPI) registration for newborns saying the programme will be part of introducing third-generation smart and digital IDs.

Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary Prof. Julius Bitok this week announced that the new registration format for newborns and issuing of birth and death certificates online would be rolled out in March.

“On the 1st of March, all registrations of births and death will be online. They will be accessed through e-citizen services and people will be given what we call Unique Personal Identifier (UPI),” Prof Bitok said on Tuesday.