By James Innocent
The Civil Registry, Nationality, and Passport Department in Yei River County has received more than 4,000 nationality cards and 17 passports.
This marked a significant step toward clearing a long-standing backlog of identity documents for residents across Greater Yei.
The Acting Director of the department, Captain Philip Kual, confirmed the arrival of the documents during an interview at the department’s headquarters in Yei.
He said the nationality cards and passports belong to applicants who submitted their applications between 2022 and 2026, noting that most pending applications have now been processed and are ready for collection.
Captain Kual advised prospective applicants seeking nationality certificates to first obtain an age assessment certificate, a blood group card, and a witness to support their applications.
He added that applicants whose witnesses are unavailable may use the nationality card of their respective area chief or local leader as an alternative, in accordance with the department’s requirements.
Residents Franko Dinya and Grace Tabu, whose documents are among those received, welcomed the development, describing it as a major relief after waiting for several years.
They also appealed to the department to maintain timely processing for applicants whose documents are still pending.
The Civil Registry, Nationality, and Passport Department has urged all individuals whose nationality cards and passports have arrived to wait for the official launch of the distribution exercise, expected to take place on Thursday or Friday, before reporting to collect their documents.
The department said further information regarding the collection process, including the official dates and procedures, will be announced during the launch.