A pilot, on Thursday, raised concerns about alleged harassment at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), two days after Tourism Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua assured the public that order was restored at the facility.
Captain Fredrick Malu, CEO of Kenya Airline Pilots Investment Limited and a pilot at the national airline, questioned the inspection of his luggage by airport officials.
The pilot alleged that tax officials ransacked his bag in search of personal items over a Ksh10,000 item. He thus wondered why his own country, in which he took pride, would treat him in such a manner.
"The amount of harassment we endure at JKIA is really quite profound and shockingly archaic. My country trusts me to fly hundreds of passengers daily on a Ksh18+billion plane and then humiliates me in front of my passengers and searches through my underwater for a Ksh10,000 item," he noted.
Malu, an experienced pilot and a recipient of the Top 40 Under 40 Awards in 2016, also serves as a director at Rubani Sacco.
The incident comes two days after the Tourism CS's impromptu visit to JKIA, where he assured visitors that they would not be harassed unless carrying restricted or prohibited items.
"If you're bringing prohibited goods or restricted items such as drugs, guns or drones among others, some of these will require a permit," he stated.
"If you're coming in with items that should be taxable to sell them, then you will need to pay taxes and the process is clear, the bag is scanned from outside before you board and before you exit."
On the same day, Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen conducted a separate meeting at the airport, announcing the establishment of an airport charter by the end of the month to govern operations.
Murkomen acknowledged that public uproar over harassment had led to a blame game between Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) officials, the customs department, and the police department.
Other reforms by the Transport Ministry included deploying an Advance Passenger Information (APS) system to provide information about passengers for more efficiency, as well as placing canopies at the airport to shield passengers from extreme weather conditions.
The reforms followed an uproar over Kenya Revenue Authority's (KRA) statement, highlighting that it will tax all goods, whether new or old, that are brought back to the country. Following the uproar, the taxman clarified that it would only tax purchased goods above 500 US dollars (Ksh75,000).
