Four individuals have been detained by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigation-Immigration in what appears to be a campaign against dishonest immigration employees in Kenya.
Josphat Khamandi Manyonyi, Howard Tsimbagi alias Button, Ahmed Ibrahim Sheikh, and Hassan Mohamed Hosman were among those detained, according to a source at Nyayo House.
They are suspected of taking advantage of members of the public.
Investigations into the murky goings-on at Nyayo House have exposed how Immigrations staffers have been asking for bribes for ages, which has caused controversy and damaged Nyayo House’s reputation.
Following their detention at the Central Police station following their arrests on Friday, August 25, the suspects will be charged with conspiracy to mislead the public and preparing to conduct a criminal.
The arrests follow a crackdown announced by Ministry of Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki, who called the Nyayo house a “crime scene” and promised to clean it up once and for all.
“I will clean up Nyayo house once & for all,” CS Kithure told the committee, “We will seal off Nyayo house & name it a scene of crime. How do Kenyans queue from 6AM? It won’t be business as usual. We must clean up Nyayo house,” CS Kindiki told the National Assembly.
According to the CS, corruption at Nyayo House is to blame for some of Kenya’s ongoing issues, including terrorism and insecurity.
According to the CS, there are currently 58,000 passports backlogged, which is a problem for most Kenyans. The Department of Immigration and Citizen Services processes about 5,000 passports everyday.
He said that there are plans to issue passports in seven days, and that in the future, the issuance time will be shortened to three days and 24 hours in the event of an emergency.