A leaked document from the Directorate of Immigration Services alleges that President William Ruto’s administration has issued Kenyan passports to foreign individuals under questionable circumstances.
The list, shared by political activist Boniface Mwangi, includes high-profile Zimbabwean businessmen and figures linked to Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces, raising serious concerns about national security and procedural violations.
Among the names are Omar Bashir Mohamed Manis, matching a former Sudanese official, and several individuals sharing the surname of RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti.
A UN document also shows that Algoney Hamdan Daglo, linked to the RSF, holds a Kenyan passport. Mwangi described this as a stain on Kenya’s identity.
Activist and Presidential hopeful Boniface Mwangi. Photo Credit | The Eastleigh Voice.
“Our passports are being sold to warlords. Hemedti and RSF are being accused of crimes against humanity, murder and rape and they are wanted, and they are travelling with a Kenyan document, so what happens is that as a Kenyan when you travel with a Kenyan passport, I become suspicious because you don’t know who is a legit Kenyan and a non-Kenyan who bought a passport.”
Controversial Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivayo also appears on the list. Chivayo has faced graft investigations in Zimbabwe and has frequently visited Kenya, even posing with Ruto.
Mwangi added that issuing passports to such individuals undermines Kenya’s identity.
“Our Kenyan passport is very sacrosanct; it is our identity. Now our government is selling our identity to foreigners for the price of beans, or I don’t know,” he said.
Normally, obtaining a Kenyan passport requires proof of citizenship through birth certificates and national ID cards, while foreigners must meet residency, language, economic contribution, and gazettement requirements.
Some of the individuals on the leaked list appear to have bypassed these rules. Mwangi is calling for the passports to be revoked and those responsible held accountable.
“The people involved in issuing the fake passports must first be fired, investigated and taken to court, so heads must roll, but rolling isn’t going far enough, people must go to jail for selling Kenya’s sovereignty,” he said.
Former Chief Justice David Maraga also condemned the alleged passport issuances, stating, “Kenyan citizenship should not be extended at the convenience of power, as it amounts to a state’s declaration that the bearer is one of us.”
As per the reports by Citizen TV, attempts to get a response from the Ministry of Interior went unanswered.