JKIA Terminal 2 will be closed for two days over US First Lady’s visit to Kenya. According to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, terminal 2 at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport will be shut down on February 24 and February 26, 2023.
According to the KCAA, the shut down will be effected to facilitate smooth movement of the US First Lady Jill Biden and her entourage.
Terminal 2 will first get closed from 11 am to 5 pm on Friday, February 24, and from 6 am to 6 pm on Sunday, February 26.
“Dr. Biden’s engagements will focus on empowering women and youth, addressing food insecurity, and promoting our shared democratic values,” the US Embassy in Nairobi said when announcing the visit.
Additionally, a senior administration official previewing the trip was quoted by CNN as saying that “the purpose of Jill Biden’s trip to Africa is to reaffirm the US government’s investments in Africa, not just in their governments, but in their people and to continue her work to empower women and young people.”
Another senior administration official was quoted as having described the trip as a “demonstration of President Biden’s commitment that the United States is all in on Africa and all in with Africa.”
This will be Jill Biden first visit to Kenya. The visit also significantly reduces chances of her US president Joe Biden visiting Kenya as president during his first term in office, with the US set to go for elections in less than 20 months.
Kenyan who boldly called out US Embassy Nairobi gets US visa
President Biden has however previously visited Kenya while serving as Vice President under former President Barack Obama’s administration. He is yet to announce whether he will contest for the presidency or not.
In Kenya, reports say that she will be aiming to “draw attention to what is a dire and immediate food crisis that cannot wait for further intervention and mobilization from the international community.”
