Nairobi, April 30 -- The Immigration Department on Tuesday halted the application and collection of passports.

The department said in a statement that it is currently experiencing downtime in its passport application receiving system as well as the collection service.

"We regret to inform our clients that we are currently experiencing a downtime that has affected our normal passport application receiving and collection services.

"Our engineers are working to resolve the issue and ensure the resumption of normal services as soon as possible," the statement read in part.

The department said affected applicants have been informed that alternative dates would be communicated as soon as possible.

"We apologize for the inconvenience caused...