Kimemia was right on US travel ban

ON Sunday Public Service chief Francis Kimemia officially protested at a new US travel ban to Mombasa. Unfortunate that very night a grenade was thrown into a bar and three people were killed. The advisory pulled American government officials out of Mombasa and advised citizens not to go there.

This coincidence was embarrassing but it does not invalidate Kimemia's point. Kenya's anti-terror security agencies are effective. They intercept many potential terrorists, for instance the two Iranians arrested in Mombasa last week. We should keep these attacks in perspective. Terrorists work by creating a disproportionate fear in the population.

Americans are very unlikely to be the victims of a terror attack in Kenya. They have a far higher risk of dying of malaria, in a car crash or from armed robbery. Why does not the American embassy not warn its citizens to avoid the Mombasa road because almost every day there is a fatal accident?

Once terrorists disturb our normal pattern of life, they are the victors. They have forced us to recognise their cause. The Americans should have put out a basic travel advisory that its citizens should 'take care' in Mombasa. It was excessive to advise its citizens to avoid Mombasa.

Quote of the day: "A symphony must be like the world. It must contain everything." - Gustav Mahler premiered his 9th symphony in Vienna on June 26, 1912.