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{
    "id": 606872,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/606872/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 342,
    "type": "other",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "is a very small nation; a member of the East African Community (EAC) which started an airline just recently. This one is catching up with us on the West African route. RwandAir, perhaps, flies more frequently to Nairobi from Kigali than Kenya Airways is doing. Kenya Airways has given the excuse that it cut down on its frequent flights and certain destinations because of Ebola. However, I do not think Ebola attacks people who fly on Kenya Airways only. If that is the case, Ebola can also attack people flying in RwandAir and Ethiopian Airlines. How come that in the same period that we are blaming Ebola on fortunes of our airlines, other airlines are doing very well. In any case, people who come to Nairobi do not come to stay. They pass through Nairobi on transit to other destinations. If you look at the data from the Immigration Department at the JKIA, you will find that very few people flying from Nigeria, Benin, Ghana and other countries are transiting through the JKIA. All you need to do is do what is done to us when you arrive at the JKIA; measure your temperature to find out whether it precludes you from having Ebola. If they test people and then allow them to transit, we will be okay. I do not think we shall suffer from Ebola that much. Therefore, some of the explanations given by the Kenya Airways about why it is going down are excuses. Finally, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I want to speak about something which is extremely important. That is the need to have well-trained and reliable pilots. Kenya Airways has been doing very well before. We were called “the Pride of Africa” because we had well trained pilots, an aviation school and the JKIA. Indeed, JKIA has been servicing planes from other countries. In terms of engineers, pilots and cabin crew, this is not the time that Kenya Airways should be looking for pilots from elsewhere. This is not the time the Kenya Airways should be having tens and tens of its own pilots fighting it in the courts because they have been laid off for flimsy reasons. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, you will remember a pilot called Capt. Waweru. When we had an accident in Cote d’Ivoire, he became a hero because he performed heroic deeds at that point in time. I do not remember the details, but I remember that he was a hero. From the documents I have gone through, Capt. Waweru was such an excellent pilot, an exemplary civil servant and an exemplary worker. As a senior pilot working with Kenya Airways, he started questioning certain practices by the management. This is because as pilots, they are not just interested in being paid, but taking part in the pride of Africa. When Capt. Waweru started raising certain issues, the management started branding him as “psychologically unstable.” He has gone through many ordeals for a number of years trying to prove that he is not psychologically unstable and that he has no mental problems. Panels have been established by the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board. Many organisations have examined Capt. Waweru. However, up to today, he does not fly planes simply because as a man of principle championing good governance and transparency, he locked horns with the management of the Kenya Airways. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}