Wednesday 2 January 2008 Update.
: Kenya situation on the ground
Mombasa
The situation in Mombasa and along the coast is calm and
things seem to be returning to normal on the streets in Mombasa.
The Resident Manager of a leading international tour operator
based in Mombasa gave details of the situation on the ground
as follows: “FYI there were no signs of trouble when
I drove to Mombasa airport yesterday morning when our transfer
buses arrived. On the drive back to our office in Mombasa
around lunchtime, I was heartened to see kiosk owners had
opened up and were selling basic foodstuffs and people were
venturing out on the streets again – including families
and children. By the time I went home in the afternoon a few
matatus had started operating and although things were still
very quiet at least there was no trouble. This morning, a
few more kiosks have opened and there is more traffic on the
roads although things are still quiet. People are moving around
more freely and in town last night, the madafu sellers were
out on the streets and people appeared to be trying to get
their lives back to some semblance of normality! Delighted
to report that all clients who left on the charter yesterday
confirmed that they had had a great holiday!“A leading
Mombasa based tour company indicated that they moved 100 people
today in 28 different vehicles between the beach hotels and
the Mombasa airport without any problem. In fact they have
seen no incidents affecting tourists on the route between
the airport and the beach hotels since the elections.
The riots which took place in Mombasa after the announcement
of the election results were fairly isolated and occurred
in the Likoni area and some of the high density housing estates
and slum areas. These demonstrations appear to have ended
and there is a strong police presence along the main tourist
routes so that order is maintained. The reports from all the
tourists staying in the beach hotels is that they were not
affected and they all wished to complete their stay in Kenya.
The reports we have received from the ground today all indicate
that all is calm and there have been no reports of any incidents.
Nairobi
The situation in Nairobi is also calm and transfers have
been operating between JKIA and Wilson airports to Nairobi
hotels without any problems. All my drivers have reported
that the roads were normal but with a heavy police presence
along the main highway. The police were ensuring that all
tourist vehicles proceeded without a problem but were diverting
some of the other traffic away from the city centre, public
buses, matatus etc. We have had clients arriving and leaving
between 0600 this morning and 2000 tonight with absolutely
no signs of any unrest or insecurity.The riots which took
place in Nairobi over the last few days were all over by yesterday
morning and were confined to various housing estates and slum
areas. There was some rioting last night in the Huruma low-income
housing estate but this was contained by the police and was
confined to this area. Today offices re-opened and people
were back at work. Nairobi gave the impression of returning
to normal.Safari:
Parks & Reserves
No security problems have been reported in any of the parks
or reserves and all safaris are operating as normal.Up-countryWe
have heard no further reports of any violent incidents in
other areas but it is considered that Kericho, Eldoret and
Kisumu should be avoided for the time being as there were
some cases of killings, destruction of property and looting
in some of these areas yesterday. These are not areas normally
visited by tourists and are far away from the areas where
we take our clients.
Other issues
Fuel: There have been reports of fuel shortages
in some areas as a result of disruption to supply caused by
the insecurity in the previous three days. The Kenya Association
of Tour Operators has been in touch with the fuel suppliers
and it has been confirmed that there are adequate stocks of
fuel available for distribution. Delivery of fuel to most
stations especially within urban areas has already started
and by this evening more fuel should have been distributed.
Most stations within the cities of Nairobi and Mombasa will
have adequate fuel by tomorrow evening.Negative publicity,
Travel Advisories and cancellations: We have been disappointed
to see some of the sensational reporting which suggested that
a civil war is raging in Kenya and that tourists are stranded
here. Nobody is stranded as the airports are open and all
the flights are operating as normal. Very few tourists have
opted to leave early and the overwhelming majority have only
been aware of the problems by watching international TV! We
in Kenya all understand and appreciate the concerns of the
international media and potential tourist visitors especially
when
Jake Grieves-Cook
Spokesman, Kenya Tourism Federation
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