JKIA's Terminal 2 to be temporarily closed for Jill Biden's visit

Security at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) has been heightened as the country awaits the arrival of US First Lady Jill Biden on Friday evening.

The tour, which begins on Wednesday and concludes on Sunday, will see Mrs Biden visit Namibia and Kenya as the White House looks to strengthen ties with the region.

It will be the first visit by a White House principal this year to sub-Saharan Africa and comes ahead of an expected visit by President Joe Biden and other senior administration officials later this year.

“The purpose of her trip 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,” a senior administration official previewing the trip said.

In a statement on Wednesday, Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) notified the public that terminal 2 will be a no-go zone on Friday February 24, 2023, between 11am and 5pm.

“Terminal two should be cleared of any aircraft and vehicles on Friday February 24, 2023, as from 11am and 5pm hours local time. Again, on Sunday February 26, 2023, from 6am to 6pm local time,” the statement read in part.

“This is therefore to advise you to relocate your operations to terminal one within the stipulated time period to allow smooth facilitation of the VVIP and operations.”

This will be Dr Biden’s sixth visit to the continent, beating out America’s first black vice president and even the president himself as the first White House official to visit Africa during this administration.

“Today, I’m heading to Africa for my sixth visit to the continent, and my first as First Lady. I’ve always believed that supporting women and youth across the world is critical to our common future, with education, health, and empowerment at the heart of it all,” she posted on Twitter just prior to departure.

She will focus on empowering women and young people, and highlight food insecurity in the Horn of Africa caused by a devastating drought, Russia’s war in Ukraine and other factors.

She previously visited Africa in 2010, 2011, twice in 2014 and once in 2016, all during Joe Biden’s service as U.S. vice president. Two of those trips were with him.

This time, she is traveling to Africa without the president as he wraps up his own trip to Poland to mark Friday’s anniversary of Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine.