CNN Calling Kenya “Hotbed Of Terror” Disappointed Kenyan President

A lot Kenyan citizens were outraged by the report of CNN calling Kenya as a "hotbed of terror." They believed that the country is not like any parts of the world where terror attacks are common, although there are some incidents attributed to the Somalia-based al-Shabaab militant group.

The CNN report could trigger some protests by Al-Shaabab militants during the historic visit of President Barack Obama to Kenya, the land of his father's birth. Before the president's visit, a senior CNN executive has gone to Nairobi to apologize for the report that called the country a "hotbed of terror."

CNN executive vice president and managing director, Tony Maddox, said, "We acknowledge there is a widespread feeling that the report annoyed many, which is why we pulled down the report as soon as we noticed. It wasn't a deliberate attempt to portray Kenya negatively, it is regrettable and we shouldn't have done it. There is a world at war with extremists; we know what a hotbed of terror looks like, and Kenya isn't one."

As reported in theguardian.com, Kenyan presidential press team issued a statement with the headline "CNN regrets 'hotbed of terror' gaffe." The report added that Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta has expressed "his deep disappointment at the story" which had "angered the people of Kenya."

Uhuru added, "In one stroke, CNN's description of Kenya as a 'hotbed of terror' undermined the sacrifices made by our Kenyan troops [in Somalia], and the value of hundreds of lives lost, and relegated them to nothing. That's why Kenyans, as expressed by those on Twitter, were so angry. Kenya is nothing like the countries that have real war. There was no reason to portray Kenya in that way."

In effect, the Kenya Tourism Board, a state agency whose mission is to drive and support the effective marketing of Kenya's tourism products, has canceled an advertising campaign it plans to air on CNN because of its "misrepresentation of the country's status."

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