My Life is in Danger, KQ Employee Who Exposed Arrival of Chinese Flight at JKIA Says

Gire Ali, the Kenya Airways employee who was recently suspended for allegedly filming the arrival of a Chinese flight carrying 239 passengers, says his life is in danger.

Gire recorded and shared a video of passengers disembarking from a China Southern Airlines flight that landed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) from China last Wednesday.

The video sparked outrage from social media users given that most of the passengers originated from China, where coronavirus has killed over 2,500 people and infected over 80,000 others.

KQ accused Gire of exposing the poor handling of passengers coming from China, thereby flouting the company’s policy.

“It has been determined that you be suspended from duty with effect from 27th February 2020 in accordance with the provision of clause 16.5 of the Company HR Policy,” a suspension letter signed by KQ chief human resources officer Evelyne Munyoki read in part.

Speaking to Daily Nation, Gire said he received a warning that his life might be in danger over the incident. “They have been calling and I’m yet to go and meet the team because someone warned me that my life might be in danger and that they were watching me.”

“I handed over my work identification documents through the fence and left. I fear about what could happen to me,” Gire said.

KQ staff handling passengers at JKIA are yet to be given protective gear despite making a request to the management about three weeks ago, Nation reported.

“As you are aware, we have a duty to provide security services to China Southern from the time of arrival up to departure,” the staff said in a letter dated February 2nd.

“We’re required to maintain security presence on this flight as long as it is on the ground. Our staff are badly exposed since we do not have protective gear while discharging our duties. We kindly request that similar masks be provided to our staff working on this flight.”