Confusion as Kenyan Man Alleged to be KQ Stowaway Who Fell in London is Found in Nairobi Prison

The mystery surrounding the identity of a stowaway who dropped from a Kenya Airways flight in London in June this year continued to deepen following a new discovery.

On Thursday, detectives from Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) established that the photo of a man earlier thought to be the stowaway is that of Cedric Shivonje, People Daily reported on Saturday.

Shivonje is a rape suspect who is currently detained at Industrial Area Remand Prison in Nairobi, according to the publication.

DCI detectives visited the Industrial Area prison where they questioned and recorded a statement from Shivonje. 

“We would like to know all the details surrounding the so-called stowaway and the cause of the mix-up if any. We are also going to investigate whether the man who fell off the plane was a Kenyan or came from South Africa where the plane began the journey before stopping over at JKIA,” DCI boss George Kinoti said.

Court records seen by People Daily showed that Shivonje was arrested on accusations of defiling a girl on August 8th this year.

He was charged before a Kibera court on August 9th and pleaded not guilty two charges of defilement and indecent assault.

The complainant is listed as BMO, a Class Seven pupil at a private school in Nairobi’s Kawangware area, according to records. 

Shivonje, a teacher at the complainant’s school, was detained after he failed to raise a Sh200,000 cash bail granted by the magistrate court.

“We can confirm that Cedric is remanded at Nairobi Medium Prison. The matter is with Muthangari Police Station and they have a detailed report,” Kenya Prisons Service spokesman Dixon Mwakazi told PD.

Police said Shivonje had initially been employed by a foreigner who runs an orphanage but was later transferred to the Kawangware school.

Shivonje’s parents—Isaac Beti and Janet Khakali—had confirmed to British media, Sky News that the stowaway was their son before retracting their statements on Wednesday.

Speaking to KTN News at his home in Kakamega, Mr. Beti said the photo used widely in the media was that of his son who was detained at Industrial Area prison.

On Tuesday, Sky News in a report released photos of Shivonje claiming that he was the stowaway but gave his identity as Paul Manyasi, 29.

Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) and Colnet, a JKIA cleaning services company where Manyasi is alleged to have been working, denied the existence of such an employee.

“A security multi-agency team has conducted investigations on the allegations made in the (Sky) news article to the effect that the stowaway worked at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and would like to state that the identity of the stowaway is an open and active investigation and any information received will be investigated to ensure a factual conclusion,” KAA said in a statement.

“The name Paul Manyasi does not appear in the airport pass biometric register,” the agency added.

The man fell off a KQ flight heading to London’s Heathrow Airport from Nairobi. His body fell into a garden in a residential property in Clapham, South London, at about 3.30 pm local time.