Kenya has recorded cases of the new Omicron variant among travellers, the health minister said.
Mutahi Kagwe did not disclose the number of cases detected so far.
The announcement comes hours after he had said there were no new variant cases in the country despite rising coronavirus cases.
People have also been reporting an increase in flu cases in the country.
The positivity rate in Kenya has doubled with 331 new covid cases reported on Tuesday alone, the highest number recorded in a day in recent months.
The total number of cases stands at 256,815 including 5,349 deaths.
The government is calling on more people to get vaccinated.
A Kenyan court on Tuesday suspended a government directive to bar unvaccinated people from accessing services from 21 December.
