Kenyans still locked out of 40 countries despite increased vaccinations

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NMG

By GERALD ANDAE
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Summary

• Holders of the Kenyan passport cannot access 40 countries, a drop from the 43 in October last year and 54 in July as nations ease travel restrictions following increased Covid-19 vaccinations.
• The Henley Passport Index, which regularly monitors the world’s most travel-friendly passports since 2006, made the revelations in its final report of 2021, showing how countries are still keen to protect their citizens from new variants of coronavirus.

Holders of the Kenyan passport cannot access 40 countries, a drop from the 43 in October last year and 54 in July as nations ease travel restrictions following increased Covid-19 vaccinations.

The Henley Passport Index, which regularly monitors the world’s most travel-friendly passports since 2006, made the revelations in its final report of 2021, showing how countries are still keen to protect their citizens from new variants of coronavirus.

“This year, Passport Index data paints a picture of a world in recovery, bolstered by growing access to vaccines and an inherent desire to move, meet and connect across the globe,” said the report.

Taiwan, Israel, Sweden, Vatican City, South Korea, Singapore, Poland, and Cambodia top the list of countries that have banned or placed restrictions on holders of Kenyan passports.

Others are, Bangladesh, Chile, Czech Republic, Cyprus and Cameroon, which Henley & Partners lists as the only African country to place restrictions on Kenya.

The countries that have so far removed Kenya passport holders from the list of Covid-19 ban include Ireland, Bulgaria, Canada, Hong Kong, Denmark and the UK.

This comes at a time when Kenya has recorded a sharp increase in cases of Covid-19 infections while the number of admissions in health facilities is also increasing.

The positivity rate — the proportion of tests coming back positive — climbed sharply by a double-digit from last month, raising concerns among health officials. The rate has increased from a low of 0.5 percent in October to 24.4 percent as of Sunday as the government steps up testing and vaccination.

In Kenya, 4.2 million people have been fully vaccinated up from 746,267 on August 14 while the number of those who have received the first jab has jumped to 5.8 million from two million over the same period.

The Kenyan passport also lost its strength in Africa, dropping from the 12th position in October to 32nd in the review.

The Passport Index shows Kenya ranked behind Seychelles, Somalia South Africa, Mauritius, Botswana, Namibia, Tunisia, Tanzania and Swaziland, among other African states.

A Kenyan can visit 30 countries without a visa and obtain the entry document on arrival in 33 countries while the visa is required in 133 countries.

Kenya rolled out new chip-embedded passports for its citizens in a move that targets rampant forgery and impersonation of holders. The new features are meant to make it impossible for anyone to forge or duplicate a Kenyan passport.

Roll-out of the e-passports with a 10-year validity period marked the beginning of the end of the ‘analogue’ passports that had been in use since independence and has since joined 60 other countries that use e-passports.