UK envoy Christian Turner affirms Mombasa is safe now

British High Commissioner to Kenya Dr Christian Turner had to personally visit Mombasa to apprise himself of the security situation on the ground before travel advisories against the island could be lifted.

The outgoing envoy who spoke to The Standard on Sunday at his official residence in Nairobi said the visit formed part of the overall assessment that led to the lifting of the ban on the day the embassy was hosting Queen Elizabeth II’s 89th official birthday celebrations.

“I sort of wanted to see for myself exactly what was going on. It helped me put together a more detailed understanding of how things have improved. And that formed part of our assessment, which the Foreign Secretary then agreed,” he said.

Turner was particularly irked by what he described as “conspiracy theories” that misapprehend British interests in Kenya and blow things out of proportion.

“These conspiracy theories that somehow Britain wants to bring down Kenya, that Britain has an agenda to overthrow the regime is nonsense. Look at what we do day in day out. We have security assistance, trade and investment, aid... these are not actions of a hostile country,” he said.

He took great offence to sections of Kenyan social media users who regaled in possibility that one of the terrorists killed in Lamu could be Thomas Evans, a Briton. Some ridiculed Britain for issuing advisories and “killing” Kenyans at the same time. “I honestly do not understand what they are saying. Wait, are they suggesting that I am recruiting these fellows? When you have headlines like ‘UK is funding terrorism’. Think about it for a moment. It is quite insulting,” he fumed.

He said the UK operates under stringent anti-terrorism financing laws and that the idea that the British could fund terror groups and organisation is “silly”. Turner said Britain’s security relationship with Kenya remains extremely deep.

He said his country shares with Kenya all intelligence gathered on security situations preceding the advisories. “We are facing as same challenge as Kenya in the UK. To say they are getting it right or wrong, these are very difficult matters for any country. We are learning together,” he said.

He said the negotiations to renew the British army training programme in Kenya had broken through the difficult strands and was on the homestretch to renewal. The old agreement expired in April but was rolled over for six months pending negotiations.

One of the main contentions between the two countries was the jurisdiction under which any crime would fall. It has since been agreed that crimes done while on duty would be handled through the British military courts but if they are committed off duty they will be charged under the Kenyan court system.

“The important thing is that there is accountability all through. We are not asking for immunity,” he said. Turner expressed full support for President Uhuru Kenyatta’s anti-corruption purge and pleaded with Kenyans to stop cynicism as the purge is complex and may take time. He said the President is serious about the fight.

He described his stay in Kenya as an “amazing privilege”. He described his style of diplomacy as diametrically as opposed to “non-confrontational finger-wagging way”.