Kenya is one of the most talked about countries in the world, and this is a good sign. It means that there is interest, and not just from a business standpoint or because of news events, but because it attracts with its diverse tourism offerings.
It is true, though, that if you hear a lot, perhaps too much.
On the one hand it can only please those who care about this country, the resident Italians who feel less "alone," and those who live off tourism and make a living from the entry of foreigners. On the other, one always hopes that information, even in the time of "globalized truths," fear at all costs and prevailing superficiality, will always be as correct and accurate as possible.
Here is a sample of clichés to be explained, deepened and refuted by those who know Kenya, toward those who speak of it on hearsay.

1. IN KENYA THERE IS WAR.
Although the Italian media try to imply it, not even too much between the lines, Kenya has never experienced a civil war or internal conflict with neighboring countries. The street protests of these days have brought back to the news numbers of dead and injured (small) and violence and destruction (nothing, compared to what happened during the same period in France, to give an example)
Kenya has been an independent country for 60 years, when it emancipated itself from the colonizers of the former British Empire. That is the first and last grueling and bloody battle fought by the Kenyan people. Kenya is a democratic nation and has been multi-party for 20 years. The clashes following the 2008 elections claimed 1,200 lives in the country, almost all of them in the north over ethnic rivalries.
The long-running Somalia crisis, on the other hand, has brought the Kenyan military, on solo missions or alongside Amisom (African Union countries), inside the troubled Horn of Africa country.

2. KENYA IS EXPENSIVE
You cannot make such a statement unless you say beforehand what kind of stay you intend. If the destination is safaris, depending on the reserves and parks, the expense can be high, but those who know Africa know that Kenya still offers the best value for money in that regard. 
If we are talking about long vacations in and around Malindi, one should avoid buying Italian products and already expenses drop. 
Because having breakfast with Mulino Bianco cookies and Nutella costs ten times that with "Nice" and Zesta jam. 
More importantly, have you ever eaten a 20-cent papaya and a 25-cent mango for breakfast? Where we Italians suffer, surely it is on extra virgin olive oil and wine, which we can't seem to do without even on vacation. And on coffee.
The argument can also be applied to certain restaurants, where, for example, enjoying shellfish and fresh local fish costs much less than in Italy, and it is sacrosanct that prosciutto or mozzarella on pizza has costs for the restaurateur, and consequently prices, much higher. Every country, then, has its achilles heels, and those who have been frequenting it for years will certainly find it more expensive than it used to be, but that belongs to the era, not just Kenya.
Of course, inflation is galloping and the caravan squeezes the local population in its grip, but paradoxically for those who arrive with euros, purchasing power has increased by 50 percent.

3. YOU CAN DIE OF MALARIA
This is a truth that now almost exclusively affects the local population of the lower strata. For some years there have been no cases of tourists dying in Kenya as a result of malaria. There is to be premised that one can die of malaria if one does not treat it well, that is, eradicate it.
In any case, what Italian doctors and travel agencies hardly say, is that instead of doing the harmful and unsafe prophylaxis, today malaria can be safely treated like a flu thanks to a combination of "next day" drugs, based on artemisinin.
Drugs that are on sale in Kenya at affordable prices, compared to preventive medicines on sale in Italy. 

4. ROBBERIES AND MURDERS
The figures involving robberies and murders in civilized Kenya, that is, the one frequented by Western or otherwise foreign nationals, are no worse than those in Italy.
Suffice it to say that, averaging and considering the different numbers, there are three times as many tourists in Italy who are victims of violent incidents as in Kenya (source Eures-Ansa). 
Besides considering that in Kenya rapes and kidnappings are very rare (let's hope they don't learn this from us as well). Rather, we must be honest, the average number of road accidents is high. 

5. AL SHABAAB
Kenya is not an Islamic country but it is by no means against the Muslim religion, so much so that especially on the coast, coexistence between Christians and Muslims has always been peaceful. Never has Kenya had riots generated by religious feuds. Rather the problems and related attacks, after the sad seasons of the Kikambala bombing near Mombasa (2002) and in Nairobi, in the Westgate and Dusit shopping malls, are almost exclusively concentrated on the border with Somalia (the worst in 2015 at Garissa University, 151 students dead). Somalia remains a now uncontrollable state in the hands of lords and hardliners, in conflict with its own governments that instead support Kenya's Horn of Africa policy. In recent times, the situation had improved so much that the two governments considered reopening the borders after 10 years, but terrorist groups that evidently do not take the same view have resumed striking with small but deadly attacks. Again and again in areas where a tourist would never venture. 

6. CORRUPTION.
Kenya has been on the disreputable list of the top ten most corrupt countries in the world for years. Italy is not bad in this ranking either, mind you, but the African nation certainly has a large and deep-rooted problem.
A problem, however, that mainly affects politics, business and justice. In everyday life, and especially with regard to a vacation, it is important to know that this habit usually results in requests for small tips that can safely be disregarded, or money in exchange for "turning a blind eye." If there are no eyes to turn a blind eye because one is in compliance, hakuna matata. 
Sunday moralists forget that (unfortunately) bribery, for us Italians, however, also has its saving implications: if you ride three on a motorcycle without a helmet, do not wear seat belts in a car, or commit some other minor infraction, at that point those little tips can save you from appearing before the judge, as the law handed down by the British would dictate. And it matters little if the law is enforced especially with foreigners. Let us learn to respect it, and we will never have to fear anything in this country by responding with a smile to the wink of an officer or official. 

7. SEX TOURISM
Deciding not to travel to Kenya because there is "sex tourism" would be like deciding to stop passing by the boulevards and ring roads of every Italian city, and on several provincial roads in the Peninsula. Beyond the bewilderment for those unaccustomed to seeing certain things that have always belonged to humanity, like an octogenarian hand in hand with a 20-year-old, it must be said that at least in Kenya there is no exploitation of prostitution, there are no "pimps," and paying a firefly does not feed the drug racket or some other illicit activity, but at most the school fees of a little unsuspecting son of a ho...pardon, student or some designer clothes. Sadness, at best, but also an ingrained habit in Africa, where the first "users" of the world's oldest trade are Kenyans themselves.

8.  SPORTSMANSHIP.
Kenyans are not "dirty," and in general Kenya is certainly not India, where there is an established and historical tradition of hygiene practices that are completely different from ours. Rather, something more like it might be our Campania (but without the camorra) 
The real problem is the growth of the country, which has to deal with the problem of waste disposal. That is the thing that jumps out most, besides galloping urbanism, especially in the suburbs. All you have to do is get into the rural reality just outside the population centers, and you will see how everything is cleaner and tidier.
Even the Kenyan government has realized this problem, and the turnaround, from September 1, 2017 to abolish the production and distribution of plastic bags, will surely improve things, pending a serious policy on waste disposal. 

9. KENYA IS NOT A "VEGAN FRIENDLY" COUNTRY.
Unfortunately, we also happened to hear this one...We would like to reassure all celery stalk and soy milk fundamentalists. Given the good presence of Indians and other vegetarian minorities by religious belief, and the goodness of fruits and vegetables, as well as the presence of protein items such as cashews and beans, you will certainly not starve in Kenya. 

10. WANT TO AVOID ANOTHER CLICHÉ? TAKE THE FIRST PLANE AND COME TO KENYA TO SEE FOR YOURSELF WHAT THIS BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY EXPRESSES, FOR BETTER OR WORSE!