The Kenyan passport has moved up one spot in the continent to take the seventh most powerful position, rising six spots in the worldwide mobility rating from position 73 in January.
The Henley Passport Index Report, which was released on Wednesday, also reveals that from 73 in January, there are now 76 nations that Kenyans can travel visa-free or with a visa obtained upon arrival.
The mobility score counts the number of nations that citizens of a particular country can travel to visa-free or where they can obtain a visa upon arrival.
In the worldwide ranking, Mauritius, which has held the top spot on the continent, rose five spots to hold number 29, demonstrating that citizens can travel to 148 countries without a visa.
South Africa (51), Botswana (58), Namibia (62), Lesotho (64) and eSwatini were next, with Kenya surpassing Malawi, which placed 68th globally. Tanzania achieved position 69, Zambia achieved position 70, and Uganda achieved position 72.
With access to 192 countries without a visa, Singapore overtook Japan as the top country in the globe. Germany, Italy, and Spain, which all came in at position two with 190 apiece, were the next three countries.
The only passport that only allows users to travel to 27 countries without a visa is one issued by Afghanistan. In that ranking, it ranks immediately behind countries like Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia.
Kenya’s document’s boost is attributed to a government deal inked with its South African and Eritrean counterparts to remove visa travel restrictions.
The strength is set to improve after the Senegalese government this week agreed to allow Kenyans to tour the country without visa requirements.
In 2015, Kenya first made public the decision to roll out new chip-embedded passports for its citizens in efforts aimed at taming rampant forgery and impersonation of holders.
The electronic passport was initially to be launched in December 2016, but the unveiling was over the years extended several times.
The government, however, finally set last December as the deadline for phasing out the old generation passports, with the move being part of a binding commitment to migrate to the new East African e-passport.
