Kenyans urged to start evacuations as Middle East strikes intensify

Kenya’s Democratic Party (DP) leader Justin Muturi has urged the government to move from travel advisories to an organised evacuation plan for Kenyans living and working across the Middle East, warning that escalating missile and aerial attacks could rapidly overwhelm normal consular support.

Muturi said the country should urgently coordinate diplomatic and logistical action to secure the safe return of citizens who want to leave, arguing that waiting for conditions to worsen could turn a preventable crisis into a national tragedy. He estimated that as many as 500,000 Kenyans live and work in the wider region, and said they face an increasing risk as hostilities expand and air travel faces disruption.

His appeal comes as the government has issued a heightened-risk advisory rather than announcing an evacuation timetable. In a statement carried on Sunday, Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi urged Kenyans in Iran, Israel, Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq and surrounding areas to remain alert, monitor official safety updates from host governments, and avoid non-essential movement especially near military facilities and crowded public spaces.

Muturi also pressed for a broader policy response beyond emergency flights and border routes. He criticised Kenya’s labour-export approach as exposing vulnerable workers to high-risk environments without what he described as sufficient protection mechanisms, and called for a comprehensive review of foreign labour policy to strengthen safeguards for citizens abroad.

At the time of the report, Kenya had not publicly outlined contingency arrangements such as registration deadlines, assembly points, transport corridors, or prioritisation for vulnerable groups beyond advising citizens to stay vigilant and follow official guidance.

Regional instability has already prompted some other governments to discuss or begin planning for potential evacuations of their nationals, amid uncertainty over travel routes and airspace conditions.