Strong allegations of foreign nationals illicitly obtaining Kenyan passports

Recent reports and leaked documents have ignited a firestorm of controversy surrounding the Directorate of Immigration Services. Allegations suggest that high-ranking officials, acting under directives from the State House, have facilitated the issuance of Kenyan passports to several foreign nationals, bypassing mandatory legal protocols.

Central to these claims is Evelyn Cheluget, the Director General of Immigration Services. It is alleged that staff within the department were instructed to treat specific applicants as Very Important Persons (VIPs), granting them express processing that skips the standard vetting duration.

To obtain a Kenyan passport legally, an applicant must possess a Kenyan National Identity Card and an active eCitizen account, followed by a verified payment. The current outcry raises critical questions regarding the integrity of this process:

• Account Transparency: Whose eCitizen accounts were utilized to lodge these applications for foreign nationals?
• The “Zero Token” Theory: There are concerns that “zero tokens” were used—a method where the system is manipulated to show a completed payment without any actual funds being transferred to the National Treasury.
• Executive Influence: Allegations persist that these orders originated directly from the State House, pressuring immigration officers to prioritize these files.

A document circulating online purportedly lists several individuals who have recently applied for or renewed Kenyan passports. Notably, the list includes Wicknell Munodaani Chivayo (Number 6), a Zimbabwean businessman who has faced significant legal scrutiny and fraud allegations in his home country. Algoney Hamdan Dagalo, the younger brother of RSF chief Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), according to the U.S. Treasury, has a Kenyan Passport number AK1586127.

The presence of foreign nationals, particularly those with a history of electoral controversy, on a list of Kenyan passport applicants has raised alarms regarding the 2027 General Elections. Critics of President William Ruto argue that issuing sovereign documents to such individuals is a strategic move to facilitate external interference in the democratic process.

While the Directorate of Immigration has historically defended its processes as secure, the mounting evidence of passport cartels and the arrest of several officers for fraudulent activities in late 2025 continue to fuel public distrust.