People Daily Kenya
By Amanga Collins
Wednesday December 13, 2023
As Kenya marked its 60th Jamhuri Day celebrations, President William Ruto maintained that the country is safe despite the glaring internal and external security threats it continues to face.
During his address at Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi yesterday, President Ruto said that the national security apparatus has remained a strong shield against terrorism, crime and insecurity.
“As we continue to invest citizen’s resources into the security sector, we continue to expect continuous improvement in its overall capacity to keep our nation’s boundaries inviolable, our people’s lives and property safe and secure,” Ruto said.
Ruto’s sentiment comes against a prevailing travel advisory by the British High Commission in Nairobi that warned its officials under the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) a week ago against travelling to areas within 60km along the Kenya-Somalia border.
“There have been a number of terrorist attacks in Kenya in recent years. In particular, there are frequent attacks in the north-eastern border regions (Lamu, Garissa, Wajir and Mandera Counties), most of which were attributed to Al Shabaab. These have killed members of the Kenyan security forces as well as civilians,” the advisory issued a week ago reads.
It adds, “The Kenyan security forces have increased their presence in the affected areas. Armed militia groups operate within the Boni Forest and along the border with Somalia. Due to the terrorism risk, the FCDO advises against all but essential travel along the Kenya-Somalia border and north-eastern coast.”
For Garissa, the advisory covers the eastern part of the county, up to 20km north-west while in Mandera it covers the entire county except the Mandera West sub-county.
In the Coast region which expects a high number of local and international tourists as the Christmas celebrations draw close, it includes the entire Lamu County excluding Lamu and Manda Island.
It extends to Tana River County north of the Tana River, up to 20km north-west and within 15km of the coast between the Tana River and the Galana (Athi-Galana-Sabaki) River.
“If you travel to Lamu Island or Manda Island, you should fly to Lamu Airport (a civilian airport on Manda Island). Do not travel by road,” British nationals are advised.