A tycoon has successfully acquired three airplanes including a military airforce jet and donated one to the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader, Raila Odinga, to support his August 2022 Presidential campaigns.
The businessman, David Njuguna, acquired the three planes during an auction by the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) to offload planes that were abandoned at various airports across the country.
Njuguna, while speaking to an international media outlet, noted that he acquired the three planes and he intends to use the military jet for personal use, the second one for business, and the last one will be a donation to Raila Odinga for his presidential campaign use.
"The cargo one is for business, the jet one is going to be for personal use, and the other one we are going to support Baba (Raila) in his campaigns, we are going to donate one to ODM," the businessman noted.
KAA has so far sold 13 aircrafts that were put on auction at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). The 13 were part of the 17 that were put on public auction with the highest bid being Ksh5.1 million for one unit.
The airport's authority issued a notice informing the public of the intention to auction the planes two weeks ago. The aircrafts were abandoned at JKIA, Wilson Airport, Moi International Airport and Lokichogio Airport.
The initial notice had announced that 72 aircrafts that were declared unairworthy and had breached air safety measures were to be auctioned at throw-away prices.
The planes included those owned by local and regional airlines as well as those owned by private persons.
Some aircrafts were put on auction after the owners failed to clear outstanding bills including the parking fees.
Other planes in the foray were owned by government agencies including Kenya Police, Moi University, and Somalia Airforce.
The parking fees for large aircrafts is capped at Ksh2,707 daily at JKIA while small planes are charged Ksh1,625 per day.
A similar exercise was held in 2019 with the aim of cleaning up various airports across the country.
