Kenya revokes citizenships of over 100 foreigners

The Kenyan government on Thursday stripped 104 foreigners of their Kenyan citizenship after a probe revealed they had irregularly acquired the documents. The cabinet secretary in charge of internal security, Joseph ole Lenku, told journalists in Nairobi that the immigration officials who had processed the documents and those who had acquired them will be prosecuted soon. "Legal action will be taken against those who had irregularly acquired Kenyan citizenship and also those who helped them acquire them," Lenku warned in Nairobi. The cabinet secretary said the government will continue to review citizenship documents issued in the last five years. More than 3,880 persons were granted Kenyan citizenship in the past five years. Lenku said the affected foreigners, some of whom Somalis, acquired them between 2005 and 2010. "The vetting team that is reviewing the issuance is now looking into the papers that were issued between 2010 and 2013," he said, warning officials in the immigration department failing to fully observe the law will be met will the full force of the law. Lenku also announced the government plan to digitize all security registries and link all border entry points through broadband to ensure that data to and from entry points can be accessed in real time. "The process of cleaning up government departments involved in issuance of these critical documents has begun and is not about to end. It will continue until the last rotten apple is removed so that we have a clean and secure process," he said. Lenku said the affected foreigners will be notified on Friday of the revocation of their papers and that he has the powers to do so under the constitution and Section 21 of the Immigration Act 2012. Kenya recently fired 15 senior immigration officers for trading illegally in national identification documents, including those acquired by terrorists who attacked the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi in September, killing at least 67 people and wounding 175 others.