A local airline that had been accused by Kisumu Governor Prof Anyang' Nyong'o of overcharging for a one-way flight ticket from Nairobi to Kisumu responded to the accusations.
In a press release dated Thursday, February 9, the airline noted that its fares to Kisumu are in the price range from Ksh5,500 to Ksh19,000 so the earlier one books the cheaper the fare.
According to the local airline, the reason why the governor was charged Ksh19,000 for his air ticket to Kisumu was that he had booked his flight late.
"In this instance, you booked this flight directly from our website the evening before the flight and hence the fare was based on the last seat available," the airline noted.
The airline further disputed the claim by Nyong'o that they were ripping off gullible passengers arguing that other airlines that are beneficiaries of Government support had higher fares.
"We appreciate your and the Kisumu County government's loyalty over the years. We, in turn, have supported Kisumu County in various ways with sponsorships towards various projects and you personally when we have held back flights when you were running late," the statement continued.
The airline, however, reiterated its continued support to Kisumu County with regular flights and its availability and readiness to welcome the governor on board its services.
Kisumu Governor Prof Peter Anyang' Nyong'o, on Thursday, February 19, wrote a protest letter to a local airline over what he termed as exorbitant flight charges.
According to the second time governor, the local airline overcharged him for a one-way flight from Wilson Airport in Nairobi to Kisumu.
The governor had booked a flight at 7 am on Friday, February 3, when his secretary informed him of the local airline's high charges.
"She told me all was well except that the airline was asking for Ksh19,000 for one way flight from Nairobi to Kisumu," the governor's protest letter read in part.
According to Nyong'o, the usual airline charges were between Ksh5,500 and Ksh7,000; therefore, the Ksh19,000 was an overcharge.
A spot-check of the airline's website by Kenyans.co.ke revealed that a one-way ticket to Kisumu was going for between Ksh5,500 and Ksh6,500.
"I called one of the managers and protested. But since I had to travel for an urgent meeting in Kisumu, we paid the Ksh19,000," he revealed.
The governor questioned why the airline was "ripping off its passengers to collect obscene profits from a gullible public."
Furthermore, Nyong'o called on the consumer protection agency, the Competition Authority of Kenya, to act against the extortion by the local airline.
He also instructed Kisumu county staff to boycott the airline in the future.
"In view of this, I have instructed the County Government of Kisumu staff not to use the airline for any trip, from today, Thursday, February 9," he ordered.
Nyong'o's protests came at a time when Auditor-General, Nancy Gathungu, shone a spotlight on Kisumu as one of the worst-managed counties in Kenya.
In her report, Gathungu also cited Nairobi among the six worst counties in managing and reporting the use of public funds.
