Kenyan Airlines strongly defends the arrest and detention of its employees in the DRC

The Kenyan airline has released their statement, a week after its employees were arrested and detained by the army of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The incident, which happened on Friday, April 19, raised concerns about the behavior of the airline’s staff and following proper procedures.

The arrest was linked to an alleged error in the special documents of a valuable cargo scheduled to be transported by KQ flight.

However, KQ has clarified that the cargo in question was never accepted or lifted due to the incompleteness of the documents.

“At the time of their arrest, their phones were intercepted and they were denied access. On Wednesday, April 23, Kenyan embassy officials and a few KQ staff were allowed to visit them but only for a few minutes,” Kenya Airways CEO Alan Kilavuka said in a statement on their page of X.

The statement of complaint said that the workers have continued to be detained despite the military court ordering their release.

KQ explained the truth about the incident, and emphasized that the shipment has not been handed over to them and is still being approved.

Efforts to convey this to military officials were unsuccessful, resulting in the detention of personnel at the DEMIAP facility.

“Our ‘Ready to Ship’ compliance checks are rigorous, ensuring that all shipments meet legal requirements before acceptance. We are saddened by this action targeting innocent employees and we consider it to be harassment targeting the business of Kenya Airways,” Kilavuka said.

He further emphasized that the responsibility for documentation and authorization lies with the carrier or shipping partner, not the airline.