Western countries such as the USA and the UK have issued travel advisories to their citizens warning them against visiting Kenya. The advisories were issued in after the terrorist attacks in Mpeketoni, Lamu. Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics shows that the number of visitors to Kenya declined by 13% in the first half of 2014 as a result of the advisories. Kenya can learn from the case below, where the use of biometric passports by the Israeli government helped to capture suspected terrorists.

Two young Iranians were arrested in Nairobi, Kenya, this week while trying to use falsified Israeli passports to board a flight, Yedioth Ahronoth reported last Friday.

The two, a man and a woman in their early twenties, were booked to fly to Brussels and then on to Israel. They went by the names of Adi and Avshalom.

Copies of the passports were provided to the Israeli immigration authority, which found that they were legitimate passports that had been lost or stolen abroad, with the original photos replaced.

Investigations into the incident have been launched by both Kenya and Israel.

Israeli officials said that the incident further demonstrates the necessity and advantages of biometric passports, which are impossible to forge.

The Population and Immigration Authority introduced biometric passports in late June 2013. A biometric passport requires fingerprints of the two index fingers, and a picture of a person's facial features.

The Population and Immigration Authority of Israel stressed that biometric documentation was the only one that could ensure the personal safety of the individual and safeguard his identity. Read the full article that appeared on Haaretz here.

If Kenya adopts biometric passports, its capacity to capture individuals who try to sneak into the country with fake or forged documents will be increased. The global community will take this to be a signal of improved security measures in Kenya, resulting in the lifting of travel advisories.