U.K. has not issued new Kenya travel advisory, envoy Nic Hailey says

U.K. has not issued new Kenya travel advisory, envoy Nic Hailey says

The United Kingdom has denied reports that it has issued a new travel advisory for Kenya.

British High Commissioner to Kenya Nic Hailey refuted the claims through a statement on Twitter on Wednesday.

“The UK has not issued a new travel advisory for Kenya. We keep our Travel Advice regularly updated but today’s reports of new warnings or restrictions are false,” Amb. Hailey said in response to reports in a section of the media.

A spot check on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) website showed that the most recent update was done on May 21, 2019.

It said: “British aid workers in Kenya should be satisfied that they have sufficient security arrangements in place.”

FCO however warned against travelling to areas within 60km of the Kenya-Somali border; Garissa and Lamu counties (excluding Lamu Island and Manda Island).

Other areas listed are Tana River County north of the Tana river itself and within 15km of the coast from the Tana river down to the Galana (Athi-Galana-Sabaki) river.

“However, 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. Attacks, including terrorist kidnappings, could target Westerners, including British nationals,” the statement on the website reads.

The statement comes a month after two Cuban doctors were kidnapped in Mandera by suspected al Shabaab militants.

The abductors have since demanded for Ksh.150million ransom even as the Kenya Government maintains that they will not negotiate with terrorists.

“We do not negotiate ransom as a matter of government policy,” Foreign Affairs CS Monica Juma said on Tuesday.

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