Nairobi, Kenya, January 2018

How safe is Nairobi? Well, there are certainly more security measures in place than I’ve seen in any other city so far. Judging from that, we should be able to feel very safe. Highway traffic is surveyed 24 hours by CCTV, heavily armed guards are seen everywhere, be it at the entrance of official or even private buildings, shops or inside malls.

Security procedures for getting inside the UN compound are seemingly being tightened on an almost weekly basis, resulting in me not being able to access the premises: even though I had been registered as a visitor the day before, consequently did appear on the respective list which the guard at the gate had in front of her, had my passport on me, passed the bag scan, and was granted a day access pass, we still hadn’t done everything right. My host was not aware that she’d have to pick me up at the entrance, as any visitor now needs to be accompanied by a staff member. I went back to my hotel without having achieved anything.

Our colleague tells us that, when a UN staff is interested in buying or renting a house, it needs to be inspected and signed off to ensure it meets the UN's security requirements. This includes among others a day guard and two night guards (or 1 guard and a dog at night); an electric fence surrounding the property; alarms and sufficient lighting around the house at night. His lovely property doesn’t give the impression of such a fortress – he explains us that the electric fence is well hidden just behind the dense hedges. “We like to pretend it’s not there.”

The terrible incident of the shooting in a shopping mall, resulting in 67 deaths in 2013, still rings in everyone’s ears. During the elections at the end of last year, there was real fear of a massive outbreak of violence, which fortunately didn’t occur. Still Maina, the driver, says that things are being exaggerated, and any white person can walk around any part of Nairobi during the day without needing to be afraid. 

He might be right, or not. At the end of the day, though, Nairobi (or at least the very few parts I’ve seen of it) has surprised me very pleasantly, especially because the city is incredibly green, last but not least thanks to the wonderful Nairobi National Park. It’s worth a visit, and in any case, the only zero risk option is not ever leaving your bedroom.