With foreign leaders due to arrive on Monday, the Kenyatta International Convention Centre, the main location of the Africa Climate Summit, has been secured by at least four thousand security personnel.
The multi-agency security team will secure the arena and it’s surroundings, according to a statement made on Saturday by the Ministry of Interior and National Administration.
Delegates will receive the necessary logistical support from the team prior to, during, and after the Summit.
The squad is made up of members of the National Youth Service (NYS), the General Service Unit (GSU), the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF), and the General Duty Police.
“Specialized units have also been deployed at strategic locations to provide technical security support during this period, ” Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo said.
On Saturday, a comprehensive simulation test of the security procedures and logistics for the international event was conducted. This test included a dry run of the dignitaries’ arrival at the JKIA and their transfer to the Nairobi CBD.
The major venue’s activities, emergency responses, the general flow of traffic, and crowd control procedures were all included in the simulation.
Omollo noted that Harambee Avenue, Parliament Road, City Hall Way, Taifa Road, and the nearby buildings have been designated as red zones to make it easier to control security.
Police checkpoints
He stated that at police checkpoints, members of the public who are employed within the 2 kilometre red zone will need to present their employee credentials and formal identification documents.
The passage of persons and vehicles into and out of the city will be regulated by marshals and police officers, he continued.
However, the Interior PS emphasized that people are free to go about their everyday lives in locations outside the “Red Zone” and urged them to comply with security personnel if requested to do so.
Before the summit, authorities have taken great precautions to secure the Red Zone, which has a 2-kilometer radius and includes the KICC, the Office of the President, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sheria House, Jogoo House, and the Supreme Court.
Nairobi Regional officers Commander Adamson Bungei said officers had classified some routes within Nairobi’s CBD as red zones exclusively for attendees of the Africa Climate Summit while giving an update on the security measures in place.
Traffic control
The cordon, which went into force on Friday, is intended to promote easy circulation for the attendees during the conference, according to Bungei.
“There will be some changes in terms of service delivery in our roads within the CBD.There some areas that have been marked as red zones and the most affected areas within the red zone will be Harambee Avenue, Taifa road, to include Reinsurance plaza,” said Bungei.
Bungei also listed City Hall Way, Wabera Street as well Parliament Road among affected roads. Otumbo, Pension, Parliament and Haile Selassie lanes, which link the designted roads will also be closed.
Bungei called on motorists to avoid inconvenience by using alternative routes which include the Eastern bypass, Wangari Maathai Road, Outer ring Road as well as the Southern bypass.
