Kenya Airways Employees detained by military in Kinshasa

On Friday, April 19th, 2024, two Kenya Airways employees working at the Kinshasa office were arrested and detained by the Military Intelligence Unit known as Detection Militaire des Activities Anti Patrie (DEMIAP). The reason for their arrest was alleged to be missing custom documentation on valuable cargo that was to be transported on a Kenya Airways flight on April 12th, 2024. However, the said cargo was not uplifted or accepted by Kenya Airways due to incomplete documentation.

On April 24th, 2024, Kenya Airways 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 the 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.

Due to the continued detention of KQ employees by the Military Intelligence Unit in Kinshasa, Kenya Airways will suspend all flights to Kinshasa on the 30th of April, stating that they are unable to effectively support the flights as they are short staffed.