The government has assured all teams and visitors coming to Nairobi for the delayed 2024 Africa Nations Championship (Chan) of adequate security, and urged the locals to extend them a warm welcome.
Kenya will co-host the 19-team continental football showpiece with Uganda and Tanzania from August 2 to 30.
In addition to hosting all Kenya’s Group “A” matches, and one Group “C” encounter, Nairobi will also host the competition’s final on August 30. All Kenya’s group matches, and the tournament’s final will be staged at the 55,000-seater Moi International Sports Centre (MISC) Kasarani, while the Group “C” encounter between Algeria and Niger will be played at the 19,000-seater Nyayo National Stadium on August 18.
With just 18 days remaining before the championship kicks off, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, and his Sports counterpart Salim Mvurya on Monday carried out a security assessment of all the venues earmarked for the competition.
The high-powered delegation included members of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) led by its chairman Nicholas Musonye, and several police and military bosses.
Murkomen said security will be tight across all areas involved in the tournament, including in airports, hotels, hospitals, stadiums and training venues, streets and tourist sites.
To ensure round-the-clock security at MISC Kasarani, Murkomen said all the 102 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras at the facility will be monitored during the entire duration of the tournament, even when no matches are taking place. Only fans with valid tickets will be granted access to the stadiums.
“We also want to say that the whole security measures have been put in place to secure our visitors in their hotels, and as they walk in the streets of Nairobi. All the teams which were required to support this tournament are ready,” Murkomen said, adding that the measures apply to all the venues earmarked for the tournament.
He noted that with Kenya having removed visa requirements for many African nationalities, a significant influx of visitors is expected in the country during the tournament.
“We have put adequate security measures at the airport to ensure visitors are properly screened, and that only the right people are entering the country,” Murkomen said. He urged Kenyan fans to be on their best behaviour, and to be supportive to all visitors during the tournament.
Chan is a biennial football tournament, which is exclusively reserved for players who are plying their trade in their respective domestic leagues.
Kenya will open their campaign against the Democratic Republic of Congo on August 3, before playing Angola, Morocco, and Zambia.
Musonye said on Friday last week that teams will start arriving on July 22. Murkomen said that in line with CAF protocols, no uniformed police officer will be stationed inside the stadium to manage crowds but the stewards. The stewards’ training will start on Tuesday, he said.
“You will probably not see a police officer in uniform inside the stadium. You will see them outside the stadium. Those who will be inside will be performing certain responsibilities that are not necessarily related to crowd management,” said the CS.
Armed, uniformed police officers are a common sight in Kenyan stadiums during matches with many being criticised for poor crowd control. On his part Mvurya said: “As a government, we are assured that we will be able to have good matches here in a very secure environment. We are satisfied with the preparations.”
Musonye had last week announced that the tickets will go on sale starting July 14. In Kenya, the regular tickets will sell at Sh200 while the VIP and VVIP will go for Sh500 and Sh1000 respectively.
