UPDATE 10:28AM: Police have now dispelled reports of a looming terror attack in the country.
Speaking to a local media station on Friday, January 28, police spokesperson Bruno Shioso noted that they are yet to receive reports regarding the alert.
He, however, assured Kenyans of their safety noting that security has been increased in the Nairobi Metropolitan and the entire country.
The government is now on high alert after the French Government through its Nairobi Embassy issued an imminent terror attack warning.
According to a travel alert dated Thursday, January 27, the French Embassy warned of a looming terror attack targeting Western citizens residing in Nairobi.
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the alert, cautioned its citizens and expatriates from other countries to stay away from crowded public places, classifying them as possible hotspots.
The red zoned areas include commercial centers, hotels, leisure centers, and restaurants among other most visited areas within Nairobi.
France advised its citizens to exercise caution and vigilance while in those places especially over the weekend and avoid them whenever necessary.
The German Embassy also issued an alert informing its citizens in the country of a possible extremist attack.
In the advisory, the two authorities outlined measures its citizens should take in case of an attack and where to get immediate help including calling the embassy's emergency phone numbers and those of Kenyan authorities.
They further issued precautionary measures their citizens should uphold when out in public places.
The two advisories come barely a month since the US Embassy in Nairobi cautioned its citizens against visiting some places in the country.
Through their January 5 alert, the US Embassy retained on its red list some areas within Nairobi and other counties prone to attacks, warning its citizens against visiting such areas.
The President Joe Biden administration highlighted issues ranging from muggings, kidnappings, and terrorism among the causes of the alert and the need of its citizens to remain vigilant.
The Kenyan government has heightened security in areas classified as volatile and especially those in the coastal area of Lamu.
Interior Cabinet Secretary, Fred Matiang’i, in collaboration with Inspector General of Police, Hillary Mutyambai, deployed a contingent of police in different areas of the country in efforts to heighten surveillance.
Other measures including dusk to dawn curfew have been enforced in some of the affected areas of Lamu.
Kenya has borne the blunt of terror attacks since the country crossed the Somalia border to help pacify the situation in the East African country that has been distabilised by infighting led by the Al Shabaab militia group, an affiliate of the Al Qaeda terror group.
