Kenya says airline employee held in DRC is freed
May 07, 2024
The detention of the pair had led Kenya Airways (KQ) to announce on April 29 that it was suspending flights to the Congolese capital Kinshasa.
(FILES) Kenya Airways planes at the parking bay at the Jomo Kenyatta International airport in Nairobi. Kenya Airways (KQ) announced the suspension of flights to Kinshasa starting April 30, 2024, citing the detention of two employees by a military intelligence unit in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as the reason for the move. (AFP)
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Nairobi, Kenya | AFP
One of two Kenya Airways employees arrested in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo last month has been released, a senior Kenyan official said Monday.
The detention of the pair had led Kenya Airways (KQ) to announce on April 29 that it was suspending flights to the Congolese capital Kinshasa.
"Deeply grateful to inform that Lydia Mbotela, KQ Manager in DRC, has just been released by the authorities in Kinshasa," Korir Sing'oei, Kenya's principal secretary for foreign affairs, said on X, the former Twitter.
He gave no information about the fate of the second person detained.
The two employees, who work at the airline's office in Kinshasa, were arrested on April 19 by a military intelligence unit, according to Kenya's flag carrier.
It said they were held allegedly because of "missing custom documentation on valuable cargo", describing it as an "unlawful detention".
The airline said its employees were held incommunicado in a military facility until April 23, when embassy officials and a KQ team were allowed to visit them.
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