Kenya Airways (KQ) has addressed the arrest and detention of two staff members arrested in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
In a statement on Friday, April 26, 2024, KQ Group Managing Director and CEO Allan Kilavuka said the two were arrested by a Military Intelligence Unit a week ago at the airline’s office in Kinshasa.
“Kenya Airways (KQ) confirms that on Friday, April 19th, 2024, two of our employees at our Airport office in Kinshasa were arrested and continue to be detained by the Military Intelligence Unit known as Detection Militaire des Activities Anti Patrie (DEMIAP). During their arrest, their phones were seized, and all access to them has been denied. On April 23rd 2024, the Kenyan embassy officials and a few KQ staff were allowed to visit them but only for a few minutes,” Kilavuka said.
Kilavuka added that the two staff members were arrested because of valuable cargo that was to be transported on a KQ flight.
He, however, stressed that KQ never transported the aforementioned cargo, explaining that the carrier rejected it because of incomplete documentation.
“The reason for their arrest was alleged to be missing custom documentation on valuable cargo that was to be transported on a KQ flight on April 12th, 2024. However, we wish to state that the said cargo was not uplifted or accepted by KQ due to incomplete documentation,” Kilavuka explained.
Military Court
KQ CEO lamented that the military intelligence unit is still holding the two staff members incommunicado even after a military court ruled that they should be released.
“On April 24th, 2024, KQ filed an application in the military court for the two to be released unconditionally. The court heard the matter on April 25th, 2024, and granted KQ’s request that the two staff members be released to allow due process.
“Despite the court orders, the military intelligence unit is still holding them incommunicado, yet these are civilians being held in a military intelligence facility,” Kilavuka stated.
KQ CEO reiterated the airline’s commitment to upholding best standard practices, stressing that Kenya’s national carrier always ensures the cargo it carries meets all the statutory requirements across its destinations.
“Kenya Airways adheres to international best practices in handling and transporting cargo. The airline has stringent processes and compliance checks known as ‘Ready for carriage’ to ensure any cargo ferried on our flights meets all the statutory requirements across our destinations. All our logistics partners MUST comply with these measures before KQ accepts any cargo,” Kilavuka insisted.
