On 24th December, Tuesday the Immigration Department suspended the issuance of passports due to unscheduled system maintenance. In a statement, the department said normal services will resume on Friday, December 27.
“We regret to announce to the general public that our passport services will be suspended from Tuesday 24 December 2019, 8 am due to unavoidable circumstances. During the period, the system will need to undergo unscheduled maintenance. Normal services expected to resume on Friday 27 December 2019,” read the statement.
In August this year, the Department of Immigration announced that Kenyans will be required to book for appointments through the e-citizen portal before visiting passport processing centres to acquire the new e-passport.
The newly-introduced appointment system was to address congestion in passport processing centres by ensuring that only those who have booked appointments can visit the centres. The Immigration Department, however, said the exemption would be made to public officials with agent assignments abroad, as well as sick persons, students and business executives with argent engagements abroad.
