POLICE CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE—NO INTERMEDIARY NO BRIBE.

POLICE CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE—NO INTERMEDIARY NO BRIBE.

Did you know that you can acquire the Police Clearance Certificate within two days if you applied in Nairobi and within seven working days if you applied from any part of the country?

Yes, this has been made possible by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations through the Automated Palm and Fingerprint Identification System (APFIS) with a capacity to process 4,000 applications daily.

Principal Criminal Registrar Mr. Patrick Mutua Ndunda says, as the demand for the document increases, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations has stepped up its service delivery to ensure that applicants acquire the document as quickly as possible.

Certificate of Good Conduct or Police Clearance Certificate?

The Certificate of Good Conduct became extinct soon after the constitution was changed giving way to the Police Clearance Certificate which came into existence as from February 15^th, 2013. Mr. Ndunda says, before then, the information about an applicant could not be indicated on the certificate while those with criminal records could not be issued with the Certificate of Good Conduct.

Mr.  Ndunda who is also a Forensic Fingerprint Expert says, further says, the constitution of Kenya allows them to furnish   an applicant with all the information about himself and any other person who requires it in order to make informed choice or decision.

Article 35 of the Constitution of Kenya stipulates that,

1. 1. Every Citizen of Kenya has a right of access to:
2. Information held by the state
3. Information held by another person and required for exercise or protection of any right or fundamental freedom
4. 2. Every citizen has the right to the correction or deletion of untrue or misleading information that affects the person.

It is for this reason that the Directorate started issuing Police Clearance Certificate to any Kenya citizen applicant from either within or outside the country. He says, the Police Clearance Certificate is issued to all applicants irrespective of their criminal records. It is important to note that if an applicant has any criminal record, offences are indicated on the certificate together with results of trial of the case.

It is therefore upon an employer to hire a person with full knowledge of the conduct of the person seeking for employment. 

Applications are made at all Criminal Investigation Offices and Huduma Centres throughout the Country.

All one requires is

1. A National Identification Card
2. Application through ECitizen and make a payment of Kshs. 1,050 online.
3. Then go to the nearest Criminal Investigations Office or Huduma Centre, produce the online payment receipt for confirmation before fingerprints are taken for processing the certificate.

For Kenyan Citizen in Diaspora, applications are made through the Kenyan embassies in the respect countries they reside. The embassies then send the applications to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where they are collected for processing at the DCI headquarters. The Certificates are then sent back to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for distribution to the respective Kenyan Embassies to reach respective applicants.

It should be noted clearly that it is totally unacceptable for applicants to give more than the Kshs. 1,050 application fee that is paid online. It is therefore illegal for anybody to ask for more money to purportedly expedite the process because, application forms are serialized and follow a queue. No jumping of the queue as processing of the certificate is systematic and processing machines have been programmed in such a way that they strictly follow a definite sequence. “Just apply and wait for your clearance certificate which is sent online”, Mr Ndunda assures the applicants

Mr.  Ndunda says, there is therefore no excuse why a Kenyan Citizen applicant from within or outside the country cannot acquire the document within the stipulated time.