The United Kingdom’s government has issued yet another travel advisory against all but essential travel to Kenya. It warns of “a heightened threat of terrorist attacks warn against the risk of kidnapping in the country.
This is the second time the UK has issued within a year as in January, they also warned its citizen to be cautious when in the Country especially the Coastal region areas such as Lamu County.
It warned of “a heightened threat of terrorist attacks in Nairobi and the coast and resort areas of Mombasa and Malindi”. Quite ludicrously, part of the advice includes a caution about mugging which ordinarily, happen even in the most secure streets of London.
The National administration termed it as hypocritical, selfish and short term. It is insensitive and unfair and unexpected of a country that claims to share in Kenya’s pain in a stagnating economy.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in fresh travel guidance issued on Tuesday expanded the areas where her citizens should be vigilant for kidnappings to include Kenya’s top conferencing, safari and beach tourism destinations.
The UK foreign office advisory comes less than two months after the United States listed Kenya among the global kidnapping hotspots in a new risk indicator that Washington introduced for travel advisories.
“There’s a heightened threat of terrorism, including terrorist kidnappings, across Kenya, including to people travelling in or through Nairobi, the coast and resort areas around Mombasa and Malindi, the towns of Narok, Naivasha, Nanyuki and Meru and their surrounding areas, and the northern border counties,” the FCO statement read.
Kenya now says predictable patterns of travel advisories in the aftermath of terror attacks are hurting it.
Through Cabinet administrative Secretary foreign affairs Ababu Namwamba, the government said such advisories only serve to play into the hands of vile merchants if death to whom fear and despondency are essential tools of the trade.
Namwamba was speaking during the 79-member global coalition against ISIS at a conference of foreign ministers hosted by US secretary of state Mike Pompeo in Washington.
The CAS said the advisories also compromise the standing of countries already reeling under effects of terror attacks.
“These are knee-jerk, reactionary and counterproductive. Let us commit to reviewing this policy,” he said.
Since the travel warnings issued in May by the governments of Britain and the United States — and later by Australia and France — parts of Mombasa feel like a ghost town.
Kenyan officials on various circumstances have reacted furiously to the travel warnings, declaring them akin to economic sabotage. Kwale County minister of tourism Adam Sheikh says Kenyans feel abandoned by the West after standing with them in the war against Islamic militant in Somalia.
“Now terrorists are fighting back, we need our friends to stand by us. Not to leave us and make the situation worse than it already is,” Sheikh says.
Western governments say they must issue the warnings to help protect their citizens. And the U.S. and British governments insist that the travel warnings for Mombasa and Kenya’s north coast are based solely on security assessments, not politics.