Editor's Review

The agitated father is also seeking compensation for flying back to Kenya to obtain his son's birth certificate. The cheapest flight from Turkey to Kenya costs Ksh64,000.

A Kenyan father has exposed the Embassy of Kenya in Turkey (Ankara) for failing to give his son a birth certificate.

In a letter delivered to parliament, Muhsin Suleiman, a Kenyan residing in Istanbul, Turkey narrated how he was forced to board a plane and incur extra costs to obtain his son's birth certificate.

Suleiman informed the MPs that he had to book a flight from Turkey to Kenya just to process a birth certificate yet the same services are offered at the Kenyan Embassy in Turkey.

He accused the Embassy of discrimination and dereliction of duty. Suleiman told the Committee that so far he has not received any communication from the Diaspora Affairs Department and he's therefore requesting the Committee to carry out a thorough review of the processes and contingency plan at the Embassy of Kenya in Turkey to ensure that they align with the standards and expectations set forth by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

File image of former President Uhuru Kenyatta opening the Embassy in Turkey.

He added that effective leadership and personnel must be in place at the embassy to uphold the highest standards of service delivery.

“ As a member of the diaspora, I value the importance of timely and reliable assistance, especially in matters concerning vital documents,” Suleiman stated.

He pleaded with the Committee for a refund of the 30 dollars (Ksh4,200) which he used as a processing fee for his child’s foreign-born birth certificate, as the service was not provided by the embassy.

The agitated father is also seeking compensation for flying back to Kenya to obtain his son's birth certificate. The cheapest flight from Turkey to Kenya costs Ksh64,000.