The Nation (Nairobi)
September 22, 2004
Posted to the web September 22, 2004
Muriithi Muriuki And Agencies
Nairobi
Forged Somali passports are on sale in Nairobi's Eastleigh estate.
Investigations by the Nation have established that Somali traders in the area are forging the travel document by putting the country's Foreign Affairs ministry seal and the signature of the last passports controller before the government collapsed 13 years ago.
A forged passport goes for between Sh6,000 and Sh8,000.
The documents are printed in Malaysia and smuggled into Kenya, where they are sold to Somalis desperate to travel abroad.
According to sources, other nationals are now using them because they are more readily available.
They are being sold although Somalia has had no functional government since 1991.
It is only last week that the country's newly inaugurated parliament elected a Speaker at the Kenya College of Communication Technology, Mbagathi, moving a step closer to establishing a national government.
The parliament is also expected to establish a new administration before elections are held in five years.
Yesterday, Ms Mary Musasia, the immigration's public relations officer, said the department was not aware of such forgery.
"We are hearing it from you. But give us more time; we shall investigate and unearth what is happening," she said on telephone.
As a result, she said, the department imposed a ban on the Somali passport, and issued fresh guidelines to facilitate the issuance of travel documents to Somali nationals wishing to visit the country.
She said the department treated the issue seriously, as the forged passports can be used by terrorists and criminals to enter the country.
The Somali passport has been an attraction to ethnic Somali Kenyans, who find it difficult to obtain a Kenyan passport.
Other nationals who are known to have used the Somali passport include Ethiopians and Eritreans, who resemble Somalis.