Garissa Governor wants passport control offices re-opened

Garissa Governor Nathif Jama is now calling on the government to immediately re-open the passport control office in the county.

The office, that was closed three years ago, has forced residents to travel to Nairobi to acquire passports, something he says has inconvenienced Muslims who intend to apply for passports to attend the annual pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia during Ramadhan holy month.

This, he said, will ease the burden of resident seeking passports ahead of the Ramadhan period slated for next month.

Services at Immigration offices in Garissa, Embu, Nakuru and Eldoret were suspended in 2013 and officers instructed to immediately return blank passport processing booklets to Nairobi headquarters.

At the time of closure, the action affected more than 700 people who applied for the document, including some 400 had who planned to travel to Mecca for the Hajj pilgrimage

The Governor now claims then Immigration boss, Major Gen. (Rtd.) Gordon Kihalangwa issued the closure orders illegally as applicants were not issued with a notice before suspension of the services.