British High Commissioner Dr Christian Turner.
Sunday, May 31, 2015
The British government has denied claims that it issued travel advisories against Kenya over insecurity posed by al Shabaab militia group.
"The travel advisories are usually not blanket bans, as the citizens are only advised to avoid specific places during their visits," said British High Commissioner to Kenya, Christian Turner.
He said the ban only targeted some parts of Coast and North Eastern parts of the country where terrorists cases were rampant.
“The UK government has a responsibility to warn their citizens of any potential security threats and the travel advisories are usually based on an objective assessment of the security situation in country,” he said.
Turner said the rules governing UK travel advisory are the same across the world and not only bestowed on Kenya.
“We have advisories against other countries too, some of them are even close to us,” he said.
However, he urged Britons to visit Maasai Mara Game Reserve, adding that he is one of the safest tourist destinations in the country.
“Maasai Mara is still safe because no cases of terrorism has been reported so far and therefore, You should feel free to tour the area and enjoy the rich culture of the Maasai people and animal heritage,” he said.
The envoy was speaking at Mara Serena Hotel on Thursday when he visited Maasai Mara Game Reserve accompanied by Narok governor Samuel Tunai among other dignitaries.
Tunai said security had been beefed up as a way of ensuring the safety of tourists.
"We want to assure all those visiting the Mara that the place is safe,” he said.
He further said the county government will employ more 120 county government rangers to strengthen security in the park.
This comes at a time when several western countries have issued travel advisories to their citizens against visiting Kenya over attacks from al Shabaab militants.