Dear

First of all I would like to wish you a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2008!

 I have been quiet for some weeks now, as the main media had put Kenya on top of the hour and in the headlines with horror stories about this beautiful country.

Indeed the post-election violence erupted suddenly and unexpectedly. Since independence in 1963, we never witnessed anything like this. Our last Presidential elections in 2002 and a referendum in 2005 were peaceful and for a while Kenya looked like a western style democracy.

During the campaigns and during the vote counting process the politicians and local media were involved in a smear campaign and incitement, which came to a boiling point on the 30^th of December when the results were announced. Mainly unemployed youth went on the rampage and vented their frustrations.

Indeed, it seems that there was election fraud on both sides of the political divide, but the subsequent violence was mainly targeted at innocent voters of different tribes by supporters of the opposition.

The main disruptions of life took place in West Kenya – Eldoret and Kisumu, areas far from the main tourist’s circuits and in the slums of Nairobi and Mombasa.

The media made it seem as the whole of Kenya was set ablaze, but not even one tourist was harmed in any way during the fracas, which came to a halt Friday, the 4th of January, almost two weeks ago.

Kenyans from all over are talking peace and reconciliation and life has returned to normal. World leaders come and condemn the violence.

During the last few weeks Tobs Kenya Golf Safaris had guests playing golf and going on safaris. They did not return home prematurely and enjoyed their Christmas and New Years holidays.

Of course I was in daily contact with them and in consultation with them, made some minor changes in their golf program as their safety had our highest priority.

Tobs is a member of the Kenya Tourist Federation (KTF) – which has a 24 hour safety and security office with observers in the main tourist areas and in contact with the police country wide.

I consulted the KTF daily and inquired about the situation on the roads to Great Rift Valley Lodge and Sweet Waters Tented camp. Never has any problem been reported there and all our guests on the 7 day golf safari to the equator drove the 700 km’s in a very peaceful part of Kenya.

Our thoughts go out to the bereaved families and the many displaced. The Kenya Tourist Federation and other private organizations have set up funds and committees to assist those in need.

The government has put security in place to ensure that violence will not happen again, while investigating the perpetrators of the law and charging them in the courts.

With the current travel warnings in place for Kenya, we do not offer any special promotions now, though you can rest assured that Kenya is now again the same place as before and guests are always welcome.

As soon as the warnings are lifted, and we hope that this will be within a couple of days or weeks, we hope that you will support Kenya again as a superb and peaceful golf destination.

Kenyans love their guests and we need your business.

I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to many of our colleagues who had sent e-mails and made phone calls voicing their concern about the situation.

I really appreciated your support during that very difficult week in the history of Kenya.

Kind regards,