We just came back from a week safari trip in Kenya and had an wonderful, memorable experience – even better than expected. However, I would like to share an unpleasant experience we had in the Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
Before entering immigration, we got stopped and was asked to fill in a form and show our yellow fever vaccination card. We saw many Asian/Chinese tourists were asked to do the same.
Just before exiting the airport building, 2 police officers stopped us, asking again for our yellow fever vaccination card. Looking at the vaccination date, they said we were not allowed in the country yet (as vaccination is effective after 10 days of having it while we had our vaccination only for 9 days). They bluffed that they would have to deport us! We argued that their health authorities had examined our vaccination card earlier and had no problem with it but the officers said that police had its own authorities. We kept arguing in the middle of the crowd (as we knew they were just trying to pocket some money) and they finally gave up and let us go.
Across the road of the airport building, while waiting for our guide/driver to pick up his car, we took a few photos of the airport. Within minutes, a police officer came and told us that we should not have taken photos of the airport. We told him that no other countries we had traveled to prohibits people from taking photos of airport exterior but to no success. He told us that Kenya has a different regulation and that we could get imprisoned for breaching it. He then took our camera and passport. When our driver came, they talked in the local language (we knew then that our driver told the officer that we were first-timers in the country and had no knowledge of the rule but failed to convince him). A lady police officer then came with us to the car and asked our driver to drive. We stopped not far from the airport building and she told us that if she took us to the police station, we would be fined at least US$ 400! Our driver tried to negotiate and after a long argument she came down to US$ 200. She then asked where we were going. As we told her we were going to Samburu National Reserve, she began softening and said it was her hometown and the people there are very nice. Our driver tried to bargain further and finally we paid US$ 100 – and lost 2 precious hours in the process. This happens in the middle of the preparation for President Obama’s visit – when the airport security was tightened and more police officers were deployed (and trying their luck on innocent tourists).
On leaving the country yesterday, outside the airport we saw a tourist family who seemed to be arguing with 2 police officers. We empathized with them and decided we would share this unfortunate incidents in TA forum.
-Posted by GabyVM on Travel Advisor-July 25th, 2015
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