Image : http://www.flickr.com
(January 3rd, 2008) - December-January is tourist high season in Kenya. As a result of the riots after the Kenya elections, many tourist wonder: Is traveling to Kenya safe? Although every traveler must make up his own mind, this article provides background information so you can reach your own decision.
Riots After Probably Election Fraud
After the Kenya elections of December 27th, riots have broken out that have caused more than 300 deaths in the week after the elections. Angry people went to the streets after evidence of election fraud by the current President, Mwai Kibaki. While the riots appear to be local, and most of the country is quiet, public life has largely come to halt. Shops have been plundered and many roads have been closed by either government forces or armed citizen groups. Airport travel has been limited, too.
One British traveler who returned from Kenya after the violence started, said: "I don't think we realised how much rioting was going on until we drove through some of it in Mombasa. I was terrified. I just wanted to get out of there, totally and utterly." Another was quoted as: "We came towards the ferry on the south side of Mombasa. There were lots of burning tyres in the road. We got trapped in the riots for a little while - people were banging clubs on the side of the van - but we got through. We had to stay in Mombasa airport for the night."
Background Of The Kenya Election Violence
Kenyans are angry because of evidence of election fraud by current Kenyan President Kibaki. His main challenger, Raila Odinga, was leading in the polls, and he had a small lead in the first election results that were presented in the days after December 27th.
However, the election commission suddenly announced Kibaki to be the winner. European election watchers said there were clear hints of fraud and asked for an impartial investigation.
Kibaki refused an investigation and quickly reinstalled himself. Odinga has refused to call for a stop to the riots, saying that if Kibaki would step down or allow an international investigation, the riots would stop automatically.
Kenya Travel Advice
As this author is not in the position to give detailed travel advice, please visit the website of the US Embassey in Kenya: http://nairobi.usembassy.gov/
Arjen Koopman is an Amsterdam-based journalist, and editor of http://www.kenya-advisor.com the independent travel and country portal to Kenya. For more information about tribes in Kenya, visit http://www.kenya-advisor.com/tribes-in-kenya.html - Copyright: You may freely reprint this article provided the whole text, the author name, the links and this notice remain intact.
No comments:
Post a Comment