Kenya Wishes for Stronger Security in 2015
On the eve of Christmas, I spent my day in Nakuru, Kenya. Nakuru, which is located in East Africa’s Great Rift Valley, is a place of contrasting tales. On one hand, there is a bustling urban center that attracts folks from all over the country in droves. On the other, there is an incredibly attractive natural environment whose key highlights include the lush vegetation that dots the surrounding hills, and the expansive Lake Nakuru, which is undoubtedly the agricultural town’s centerpiece.
Of the two sides of Nakuru, I like the natural side more, especially the lake. Accordingly, I religiously visit Lake Nakuru each December.
But this holiday season was different. The lake, which typically teems with wildlife, including thousands upon thousands of pink flamingos, was mysteriously calm. Not only were the iconic flamingos missing, but there was a ‘loud’ silence.
This picture, which I took, captures the mood at Lake Nakuru more than I could through words.
Lake Nakuru is mysteriously silent. Photograph: Lennox Yieke
Upon deeper reflection, I realized that the unusually silent mood in Lake Nakuru was a symbolic representation of how tourism, a sector that typically drives the Kenyan economy, has taken a hit because of insecurity.
By May 2014, at least 20 hotels had shut down in Kenya’s coastal region, the Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers (KAHC) disclosed in an August 2014 press briefing. While data for the end of the year had not come out by the time of writing this article, it is conceivable that the situation has deteriorated, given the series of security lapses and terror attacks in November and early December.
Being the second biggest earner of revenue for Kenya after agriculture, tourism is critically important to employment of Kenyans, especially those in rural areas, where other industries have not developed sufficiently to fully absorb the population. In this regard, my wish is that the security crisis in our country is solved in 2015. I am, however, confident that the current administration’s efforts to strengthen security will prevail.
