Kenya Tourist Board Update On Recent Events 
Over Contested Kenya's 2007 Presidential Election

Current as of January 17, 2008 

Kenya tourism officials are working diligently to ensure the safety and security of visitors to the country. In order to keep the traveling public up-to-date on the situation on ground in Kenya, we are sending out continual updates on the current state of affairs within the country with regard to the tourism infrastructure.  

Thursday 17th January 2008: Security Update
As of now the reports we have received from around the country are as follows: 

Mombasa and coast:
There were no reports today of any demonstrations or attempts to stage rallies in Mombasa or the coast area and no reports of any confrontations between protesters and police other than small groups holding placards. All remained calm and all roads were open as normal. 

Nairobi:
There were some minor skirmishes in the city centre and the Kilimani area of Narobi when crowds were dispersed by the heavy police presence but with no reports of any injuries.  Traffic continued as normal in Nairobi including buses and public commuter minibuses (matatus).  

The situation was different in the slum areas of Nairobi at Kibera, Kariobangi and Mathare where there were reports once again today of violent confrontations between demonstrators and police with shots being fired. Reports have not yet been received of any injuries. 

The Nairobi airports at Jomo Kenyatta International and Wilson operated as normal with no disruption to flights. A strong police presence ensured that the highways between the Nairobi hotels and the airports were kept open and the Kibera demonstrations were prevented from moving beyond the slum area.  

Up-country:Narok: There were reports of demonstrations in the town and barricades being erected and fires lit by demonstrators confronting police. A number of tourist vehicles drove through Narok and were aware of the gathering protesters but there were no reports of any incidents involving tourists. The Kenya Tourism Federation Safety & Communications Centre is monitoring the situation along the route to Narok to ensure that safari operators are kept informed. 

Kisumu: Once again there were violent confrontations between demonstrators and riot police.  

Eldoret: in the afternoon a large crowd were involved in a demonstration in the town centre which became violent and was broken up and dispersed by police who fired shots in the air.  

The Kisumu - Eldoret area in Western Kenya remains off-limits for tourists but there were no reports of any incidents affecting tourists at the coastal beach resorts, the international airports, or the wildlife parks. 

Wednesday 16th January 2008: Security Update
Yesterday saw the opening of the Kenya Parliament after the elections and this took place without any public disturbance. There was a strong police presence around parliament to ensure there was no disorder and the authorities decided not to close the Uhuru Highway so tourist traffic continued as normal past Parliament for airport transfers and for safaris departing or driving through Nairobi.  

The peaceful re-opening of Parliament is another positive step towards having travel advisories revised by the international governments who have imposed warnings against travel to Kenya.  

In Parliament it was noteworthy that the opposition had a majority: 105 seats to 102. This means the opposition should now be able to pursue their interests in Parliament rather than on the streets and we are all hopeful that the calm that has prevailed for over a week now will continue.  

It is encouraging to see two positive comments from the leadership on opposite sides of the political divide quoted by the BBC today: 

The opposition: ODM MP Najib Balala told the BBC's Network Africa programme: "We want to prove to the world we are not going to act in an uncivilised way, we are going to parliament, we are going to show that we are controlling parliament." 

The government: Justice Minister Martha Karua told the BBC she believed cooler heads would prevail. "We are ready to navigate through a hung parliament through persuasion, through negotiations. We expect that eventually everybody will come to their senses, realise that we've got to learn to live with each other."  

The main opposition party, ODM, had announced that they would hold rallies in different parts of the country today and on Thursday and Friday this week but issued assurances that that these are intended to be peaceful.  

In both Nairobi and in Mombasa today several small groups attempted to assemble in different parts of both cities in response to the call for rallies but were quickly dispersed after minor skirmishes with the police and with no reports of any violence taking place. It is reported that a more serious demonstration took place in the Kibera slum in Nairobi but this was prevented from spreading beyond Kibera by the police. 

In Kisumu it is reported that there were violent confrontations between police and demonstrators which were dispersed by the police but at this stage we do not have further details. In Eldoret demonstrators are reported to have been dispersed by police. It should be noted that the Kisumu-Kericho-Eldoret  area is considered off-limits for tourists and is being avoided by tour operators. 

The security situation continues as before with no tourists affected at the beach resorts, in the international Nairobi hotels or in the wildlife parks and any violent confrontations between protesters and police confined to the slums and to places in Western Kenya far away from the areas currently visited by tourists.  
 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION - The U.S. State Department has updated travel information for Americans travelling to Kenya on their website. For more information please visit www.travel.state.gov. Additionally, travellers can visit the U.S. Embassy site in Nairobi at www.kenya.usembassy.gov.  

Please be sure to monitor the situation on all fronts, as the situation is fluid and can change at any time. The KTB strongly urges travelers and travel suppliers to make informed decisions based upon all the information that is available on Kenya's state-of-affairs by continually checking with all available informed sources. As always, all U.S. travelers into Kenya should register themselves through the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi at: http://travelregistration.state.gov.