President Ruto opens western region Immigration Office in Bungoma » Capital News
BUNGOMA, Kenya, Jun 1 — President William Ruto has opened the Bungoma Immigration office that targets the issuance of passports and other travel
documents within the greater Western Kenya region.
Residents of the counties of Bungoma, Kakamega, Vihiga and Trans Nzoia with a combined of population of around six million people are expected to be the main beneficiaries of the new office located within Bungoma town.
The President who is on a three-day visit to the County that will host this year’s Madaraka Day celebrations on Saturday issued the first batch of passports processed in the new office.
“We really appreciate the opening of this office as we can now easily apply for and collect passports without spending a lot of time and money travelling to Kisumu or Eldoret,” said Brian Simiyu, an IT graduate who hopes to pursue job opportunities in Dubai.
Sixteen-year-old Blessy Okwisa who is a Form Two student and an amateur hockey player dreams of playing for the national team and using her passport in international competitions.
Besides the issuance of passports, the new office will also offer a dedicated eCitizen desk and services such as work permits, residency applications, Electronic Travel Authorization, Temporary Permits, Interstate Pass, Refugee Travel Documents and Certificate of Identity and Nationality.
The office location is considered critical as Bungoma is only 35 kilometers away from the Kenya-Uganda border town of Malaba and other nearby international crossing points.
The town has witnessed a surge of visitors mainly from the East African region.
Immigration and Citizen Services PS Julius Bitok said the Bungoma office will serve around 500 clients daily thereby easing the pressure on the Eldoret and Kisumu offices.
He said more regional Immigration offices are planned for across the country as the government pursues the goal of making passport services cheaper and faster.
“We have a vision to make acquisition of passports an affordable and faster service. With the opening of more offices alongside other reforms we are undertaking, we believe it should be possible to issue passports within three days.”
The PS who was briefing the media about the new office urged Western Kenya residents, many who engage in cross-border movements, to take advantage of the new office to regularise their travel papers and residency status.
He said the government is aware that many members of border communities in the region held registration papers from at least two neighbouring countries owing to social-cultural and economic ties without formally applying for dual citizenship.
The government had also relaxed the vetting process for communities living along the border to make it easier to acquire the National ID Card.
Speaking at the same function, Broadcasting PS Edward Kisangani urged Bungoma residents to fully exploit the convenience offered by the eCitzen platform to access over 16,000 government services available online.
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