NAIROBI – In a sweeping two-day operation, Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) detectives have arrested 26 suspects, including civil servants, assistant chiefs, businessmen and middlemen, for their alleged roles in the illegal issuance of critical government documents.
The racket involved the fraudulent processing of National Identity Cards, passports, birth certificates, death certificates and Foreigner/Alien ID cards through bribery and blatant violation of procedure at the National Registration Bureau and Immigration Services.
Detectives say the syndicate, operating mainly in Nairobi’s Eastleigh and city-centre offices, allowed unqualified individuals – including foreigners – to obtain genuine Kenyan documents, posing a serious national security threat.
Raids on suspects’ homes yielded a large cache of official materials that should never leave government premises: blank and filled ID application forms, fingerprint kits (slabs, rollers and ink rollers), passports, birth and death certificates, official rubber stamps and other registration tools.
Among those arrested are registry clerks and senior staff from the Registrar of Persons offices in Embakasi, Kamukunji, Kariokor and the NSSF Building headquarters, as well as Immigration headquarters personnel. Also netted were two Eastleigh assistant chiefs, several businessmen believed to be financing the scheme, freelance brokers and a fingerprints technician.
The full list of suspects includes Judy Kemunto Ondari, Moses Mugoya Margaret, Ruth Osebe Sukuru, Jawahir Mohamed Muse, Moulid Yusuf Dige, Mohamed Issack Gedow, Abdirizak Osman Rage, Alfred Opia Ayaway, Abdirizak Abdi, Abdirashid Mohamed Ali, Festus Bahati Chai, Abdirizack Bashir Farah, Samatar Osman Robne, Fuadh Bulle Mohamed, Geoffrey Mokoro Mutanya, Joseph Mwendwa Munyithia, AbdiKadir Mohamed Dahir, Berrick Kororia Maghas Sukuru, David Korir, Titus Mwanga Nthenge, Yahya Daud Manor, Issack Abdow Mohammed, Nelson Katana Kazungu, Daniel Munywoki Kavuwa, Abdullahi Abdi Khamisi and Abdirahman Roba Guyo.
All 26 are in custody and will be charged in the coming days.
The DCI described the operation as a major blow to organised document fraud and reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the integrity of Kenya’s registration systems.
