By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Kenya Airways (KQ) has announced the suspension of flights to DR Congo’s capital Kinshasa, citing what it called “unlawful” detention of two employees by military intelligence.
In a statement on X, formerly Twitter on Monday, Kenya Airways said it is “unable to support these flights without personnel effectively”.
The suspension would take effect from Tuesday, the statement.
On 19 April, two Kenya Airways employees were taken into custody by the Military Detection of Anti-Homeland Activities (DEMIAP) because of allegedly “missing customs documentation on valuable cargo”, according to the airline.
But the company’s chief executive said “the said cargo was not uplifted or accepted by KQ due to incomplete documentation”.
During the arrest, the two employees’ phones were seized and access to them had been denied until 23 April when the Embassy officials and KQ team were allowed to visit them.
The airline company urged the Congolese military to release the KQ employees to their families. DR Congo’s government has not commented on the situation.
Heritage Times reports that the East African countries have enjoyed cordial diplomatic relations, uniting in the fight against rebel group, M23.
In 2022, Kenya deployed troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as part of a regional military intervention to support the Congolese regime against rebels operating in eastern DRC.
Leaders of the East African Community (EAC) had agreed to establish a joint force to help restore security in the region.
