NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 28 – President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday met with top security officials amid a looming terror threat in the country.
Warnings that terrorists are planning attacks on key installations, malls or places frequented by Western nationals was first issued by the embassies of France, Germany, Netherlands and the United States (US) Embassy.
In the meeting with President Kenyatta, security officials drawn from the National Government Administration Office (NGAO) and the National Police Service (NPS) assured of heightened vigilance.
“The Head of State and the officials, who included Regional and County Commissioners, and their NPS counterparts at the same level also discussed a wide array of national security subjects,” State House Spokesperson Kanze Dena stated.
She pointed out that they assured the Head of State of their commitment to continue discharging their mandate professionally.
France had described the threat as a “real risk”, warning its nationals and Kenyans at large to exercise caution.
“There is a persistence of serious threats against Western nationals in Kenya. There is a real risk targeting public places frequented by foreign nationals (restaurants, hotels, leisure venues, shopping malls, etc.), particularly in Nairobi,” read a notice published by the country Foreign Office on Thursday.
The French embassy in Nairobi emphasized on the need for people in areas presumed as targets to be on high alert.
Though the embassy did not specify the terrorist organization, Kenya has suffered a brunt of attacks from Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group Al-Shabaab.
The Somalia-based terror outfit has staged a series of attacks on Kenyan soil since the country launched a military offensive against them in 2011 in an intervention dubbed “Operation Linda Nchi”.
Kenyan troops deployed in Somalia work alongside other forces from other countries including Uganda, Burundi and Djibouti under the African Union’s AMISOM coalition.