real threat?
It is impossible to tell how much of this is braggadocio and how much of it is a legitimate threat. Either way, Nairobi is a very, very easy target, notwithstanding the U.S. Embassy bombing of 1998. Security at possibly high-value targets is perfunctory at best. Security guards are underpaid and treated poorly, and would be susceptible to bribes. Weapons are easy to come by.
You hate to be alarmist on stuff like this. And Kenya’s government cynically muddies the waters by cynically crying wolf about non-existent terrorist threats in what would seem to be a play for more aid from the West. Yet there have been some worrying indicators lately that something might be brewing. The news that police found a mortar shell on a bus raised a few eyebrows, for example.
Yup. Concerns over Al-Shabaab violence are growing. Back when I arrived in July, rumors were that the big shopping mall, Westgate, would be the first target.
