More than 3,000 police officers will be deployed in the city during the Easter holiday as authorities intensify security in the wake of sustained terror attacks.
County Police Commandant Benson Kibui said the officers will be deployed at churches and mosques, shopping malls, entertainment spots and public places which have been previously targeted by terrorists.
Police urged members of public to be careful and report any suspicious activity.
Adequate measures
“We want to assure Kenyans that we have put in place adequate measures to ensure that security across the country is maintained during the Easter Holidays,” Mr Kibui said.
It is expected that thousands of residents will be heading out of town for the weekend.
Popular destinations for most of them include the sandy beaches at the Coast, the Maasai Mara, Naivasha, Amboseli, Lake Nakuru, Samburu and Tsavo lodges.
Travel firm Bonfire Adventure reported over 95 per cent bookings by city residents heading to various destinations for the long weekend with 67 of their fleet of eight-seater trucks fully booked.
“We have six slots for the Arusha, Ngorongoro and Lake Manyara trip, seven slots for Amboseli-Tsavo excursion, eight slots available for Maasai Mara excursion and six slots for the Samburu excursion,” the tour firm said in an online post.
Bus companies heading to the Coast and Western Kenya also reported full bookings ahead of the Easter holiday.
Easy Coach, which plies most Western Kenya routes, said their buses were fully booked until late next week.
“You cannot get a bus for the days preceding Easter. We can avail you a seat after April 23rd,” a receptionist at the bus firm’s head office said.
Matatus serving various routes in Central Kenya also increased fares in anticipation of the increased numbers of travellers from the city, heading to their rural homes.
Matatus going to Meru are now charging Sh1,000 up from the normal Sh600 while those heading to Embu are asking Sh450, up from Sh400.
Fares to Kisumu have also been raised from the normal Sh1,100 to Sh1,300 while bound for Nakuru are charging Sh500, up from Sh300.
Also fully booked were buses heading to Mombasa and Malindi; including Coast Bus, Modern Coast, Mash and Spanish.
Airlines too have recorded a surge in ticket sales with charges also rising as a flight from Nairobi to Kisumu aboard the newly introduced Jambojet cost Sh5,850 up from the normal Sh2,850. On Kenya Airways, the flight cost ranged between Sh8,850 and Sh11,850 depending on the timings of the flights.
