Man Arrested After Forcefully Entering Plane at JKIA

JKIA & DCI
A photo collage of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport attendant (Left) and Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officer (Right).
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KAA/DCI Kenya

Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers are holding a man who forced his way into an aircraft at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

In a statement on Saturday, police revealed that the event took place at Terminal 1 D for local departures.

According to the police, the 34-year-old man who was later identified as a passenger had failed to board his booked plane on time as required by the local airline.

He was locked out of the airplane which was due for a take-off from Nairobi to Mombasa on Friday at around 9 pm.

jkia
The entrance of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in August 2019.
Kenyans.co.ke

In an attempt to catch the flight, the man pushed everyone aside even against the warnings of security officers who were manning the airport.

"He later forced entry through Gate 1 and entered the wrong aircraft when the gates were already closed," the statement by the police read in part.

Consequently, flight attendants and security officers pulled him out of the plane by force, creating commotion in the plane.

The middle-aged man was picked and detained at JKIA Police Station.DCI officers attached to the airport commenced investigations.  

"He is booked in police custody for the offence of entering restricted area," the police stated.

Restricted areas such as airports are governed by the Protected Areas Act (Cap. 204). The Act defines a protected area as any area, place or premises which has been declared by the Minister to be a protected area under Section 3.

Once an area has been declared to be a protected area, no person is allowed to enter the area without the permission of the prescribed authority or the President or the Minister of State for Defence.

The prescribed authority is the person or body of persons specified in the notice declaring the area to be a protected area.

 In addition to the Protected Areas Act, there are a number of other Kenyan laws that restrict access to certain areas. 

DCI headquarters in Nairobi.
DCI headquarters in Nairobi.
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DCI