Terrorism ruled out as cause of Nairobi fire
"Investigations are progressing well but I can assure you the element of terrorism has been ruled out," said the president, speaking at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
"There was no element of terror, no evidence of explosions or improvised explosive devices in this incident," he added.
Kenyatta said that investigations were continuing with the help of security from other friendly nations.
Last week a police source who wished to remain anonymous, said that Kenyan investigations were benefiting from the help of partners, including the (America's) FBI.
The cause of the fire which broke out at 5:00 am (0200 GMT) and which blazed out of control for several hours has not yet been determined.
The airport's main arrivals hall was gutted in the blaze.
The fire broke out 15 years to the day after the twin bombings by Al-Qaeda targeting the US embassies in Nairobi and in the Tanzanian economic capital Dar es Salaam left 224 people dead.
Speculation
Immediately following the incident, Kenyan authorities called on people not to speculate on the cause of the fire.
The fire caused no casualties but paralysed the airport, the principal aviation hub for east Africa. Dozens of international and domestic flights were cancelled.
Kenya Airways resumed international flights last Thursday (8 August) and foreign carriers started using the airport once more on Friday (9 August)
According to Kenyatta, a new temporary terminal will be ready in the coming weeks and he adds that the JKIA will now be refurbished.
Eric Kiraithe, head of security at JKIA, told AFP that most airlines had resumed operations.
South African Airways confirmed that had it resumed flying to Nairobi and said the company had put on an extra flights to help move passengers who had been stranded after the fire.
Source: AFP via I-Net Bridge
Source: I-Net Bridge
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