UK issues new travel warning

What you need to know:

  • The Interior ministry’s spokesman Mwenda Njoka dismissed the warning
  • The British have been advised to take a comprehensive travel and medical cover before visiting Kenya

The British Government has advised the country’s citizens to avoid travelling to Mombasa, Eastleigh in Nairobi and areas within 60 kilometres of the Kenya-Somalia border.

In its latest update published in the British High Commission website, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) further advises against non-essential travel to Garissa and slums in Nairobi and other towns.

The Interior ministry’s spokesman Mwenda Njoka dismissed the warning. “Every part of the world is nowadays prone to ‘high threat from terrorism’ including Britain,” he said.

“Here in Kenya, we’ve taken a number of measures to mitigate against threats and significantly minimised occurrence of the same and as such for any country to issue travel advisory against Kenya it is an unfortunate and irrational move.”

HIGH CRIME LEVELS

The FCO warning cited Nairobi’s high density settlements, including Kibera, Mathare, Huruma, Mukuru kwa Njenga, Mukuru kwa Reuben, Korogocho, Kariobangi, Kangemi, Mwiki and Kawangware, for “high crime levels”.

Kibera is a tourist attraction, with foreigners and aid workers visiting it after it was cited as one of Africa’s largest slums.

British citizens have further been advised to avoid Mombasa Island and areas within five kilometres of the coast from Mtwapa Creek in the north to Tiwi in the south. Other areas are Kiwayu and the coastal area north of Pate Island in Lamu County.

The British have been advised to take a comprehensive travel and medical cover before visiting Kenya. The advice cites recent blasts in Mombasa and Nairobi, warning of a high threat of terrorism and kidnapping.