ICASH

As many of you know, Kennedy Muthoka a guide based in Nairobi has been in touch and I am forwarding his emails.

Hopefully this information will be helpful to those of you who are trying to decide what to do about a trip to Kenya in the immediate future. I am supposed to leave 1/10

Here is the latest one.
Ilene

Dear Cashman,

Thank you so much for your reply.
As I said, I shall be giving events as they unfold on the ground. By
referring to specific events, it gives you an idea on what is going on.

Joe our driver who had left for Aberdare /Mt. Kenya region is still doing
well with no threat/interruption to report on his itinerary.Today he is in
Mt. Kenya Safari club.He says the air is normal and no tension at all
around that region.

Elly the other driver departed Maasai Mara today in the morning to
Nairobi.It takes about 5hrs 30 min to get to Nairobi by road. He arrived
very well with his six tourists whose flight is today departing 2130hrs to
Dubai. As I write this, He is doing CITY TOUR in the heart of Nairobi !!

Maurice the other driver is doing well with his clients in Samburu
National reserve-They are doing their Game drives as usual.Nothing

As I had mentioned, Nairobi was a "no go zone " yesterday, but today was a
normal working day with public vehicles dropping workers right in the City
centre.Business as usual. Supermarkets are open and people are shopping
for previously scare commodities .Some roads leading to some important
government offices could be closed,but surely, the road to the Airport is
NOT !! Also all the roads in and out of Nairobi are all open and clear !!

Clients are arriving at the JKIA Airport in Nairobi, they are taking
even taxis to the Nairobi Hotels .

Of course tension must be in the residential areas solely due to the fact
that,therein resides all tribes of Kenya,and in cases where the majority
happen to be the two major tribes currently against each other,then
obviously one doesn't know what the other is planning as even one can't
understand the lugguage of the other !! That's what is causing the
tension.

You would hardly find the more enlightened citizens getting embroiled in
this riots as most argue that,whoever gets the presidency will not visit
him/her to add any number of bread in their house,but it is only their
sweat that will improve individual welfare.So they just neen a peaceful
environment.This category of Kenyans believe in working to change their
economic status as opposed to those who have been
"promised " by the politicians that wealth shall be brought from the high
office down to them !! This promises dominated most of the campaign
period.

Tomorrow 3rd Jan may be a day of chaos In Nairobi City as the
opposition(that felt cheated) plans a public rally.It will depend largely
on if the politicians will agree and postpone it for the sake of national
security/unity and peace.The police have declared the rally illegal.When a
rally is illegal here,it is met with brute force !!! If you are caught
in the skirmishes, you leave to tell a story of your miraculous escape
from some Hell !!!

I think this would do for today. What remains is to await the effects of
the Rally. I shall get back thereafter.

Thank you for choosing to share my communication with the other Fodorites.
I love them all and I know very well that their hearts are with us Kenyans
in this trying moment of our wonderful country.

For those who have been in this country,they cannot believe that the
friendly people they met can go to the extends of butchering one another
this way !!...I personally can't believe it either...It is a big
embarrassment that this politicians have either them or their children
married from their current tribal enemy ..Surely how does one listen to
one tribe in which you are married to, cursing and directing the most
obscene rhetoric to the tribe in which you come from !! ....
But am sure if the politicians want to defuse this tension,they can do it
in a day !!! That would show that they are truly unselfish leaders !!


My Best Regards
Kennedy


> Kennedy,
> Thank you very much for your response. In addition to my husband and I,
> there are quite a few people who are about to leave for Kenya and need as
> much
> information as possible. We have been reading the Fodors blog which is
> where I
> got your name from some of your past clients. I plan to post most of your
> email there so that others can benefit from your observations.
>
> What we are hearing in the US is quite different from your email. My
> husband
> has forwarded some of it to you. We are reading and hearing about lack of
> communication, curfews, roads to and from the airport blocked, suspension
> of
> domestic flights and food shortages in addition to the shootings, murders
> and
> riots. Although the US state department has not prohibited travel they
> are
> urging people to consider the risks. Some European countries have
> recommended not
> traveling but have not prohibited it.
>
> We are lucky that we have about a week to evaluate our situation and we
> will
> wait awhile before making any decisions. We have been looking forward to
> this
> trip for years!
>
> Thank you again for your input and any further emails would be greatly
> appreciated and I will pass them along to others.
> Ilene Cashman
>
>
>
>

safarimama

thank you Ilene for posting this

atravelynn

Thanks ICASH and thanks to Kennedy.

cjstobbs

Thank you to all. I am only traveling through Kenya to Rwanda and was very concerned about the airport, as the U.S. government suggests civil aviation could be subject to terroist attacks. Very unnerving. Please continue to post information.

going_2_africa

ICASH, thanks so much for posting these updates.