New US Ambassador Margaret Whitman Clarifies Travel Advisory on Kisumu

New United States Ambassador to Kenya Margaret Whitman says the recent advisory warning American citizens against travel to Kisumu during the August 9th general election was a “routine security alert”.

Speaking at her first media briefing on Sunday, Whitman clarified that the advisory does not in any way reflect the US views on the outcome of Tuesday’s election.

“The reason we issued the alert is that this is the second largest population of Americans outside of Nairobi. We have a very large number of American citizens and a large number of Embassy personnel in Kisumu,” she said.

The ambassador pointed out that if they had a large number of people in another area, they would have added that county in the advisory as well.

“We need to follow the Kenyan lead on creating the right environment for this election but we have done everything we can to be helpful to the Kenyan government and the people to running a free, fair, and transparent election,” Amb. Whitman added.

In the alert dated August 2nd, the embassy said it imposed movement restrictions on personnel in Kisumu “out of an abundance of caution.”

“Out of an abundance of caution, the Embassy has imposed movement restrictions on personnel in Kisumu. The State Department reminds U.S citizens of the continued need for sustained vigilance,” the advisory read in part.

The advisory raised eyebrows, with a section of Kenyans questioning why the embassy singled out Kisumu and ignored other areas that have been mapped out as possible violence hotspots ahead of the upcoming elections.

The embassy later clarified that it has no information to suggest the security situation in Kisumu, or in any other parts of Kenya, have been adversely affected by election preparations.

“Alerts of this nature to American citizens are common ahead of elections throughout the world, and the United States has no information to suggest the security situation in Kisumu, or in any other parts of Kenya, have been adversely affected by election preparations,” the embassy stated.

“Kisumu hosts a significant number of U.S. Embassy personnel and is a frequent travel destination for American citizens. The U.S. Department of State has no greater responsibility than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas and routinely issues Security Alerts surrounding elections, health conditions, and extreme weather, ensuring U.S. citizens have information that helps inform travel plans.”