Kenya Airways (KQ) will suspend its Kinshasa-Nairobi route from Tuesday. (Tony Kalumba/AFP)
- Two Kenya Airways personnel have been detained by DRC military intelligence.
- Kenya Airways announced it would suspend flights to Kinshasa from Tuesday.
- This issue is currently being handled at the government level.
Kenya Airways (KQ) will suspend its Kinshasa-Nairobi route from Tuesday due to the “illegal detention” of an employee by the Democratic Republic of Congo's military intelligence services.
The airline said in a statement on Monday that it will no longer be able to operate as the detention has affected its ability to provide customer service, ground handling, cargo transportation and generally ensure safe operations.
“As a result, we have reached the difficult decision to suspend flights to Kinshasa from April 30, 2024, until we can effectively support these flights,” KQ said.
They also implored the Democratic Republic of Congo to ensure that “staff are treated with humanity and respect during this unlawful detention.”
KQ said the matter was then escalated to the government level to find a solution to the impasse.
“We continue to cooperate with the DRC and Kenyan investigative authorities and relevant government agencies.
The airline wants their release “so that due process is respected and innocent staff can return to their families and daily lives without being harassed.”
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According to previous media reports, the two employees were detained on April 19 on suspicion of not having the required customs documents for the “valuable” cargo.
They were kept in isolation until Kenyan embassy officials were allowed to visit them on April 23.
They appeared in court last Thursday and the court requested their release.
However, military intelligence ignored the court's ruling.
Neither the DRC government nor KQ would say what kind of transport was involved.
He was not identified in court either.
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