Court fines Four Britons Sh200,000 each for illegally accessing airport

British citizens Stephen Gibson (in glasses), Paul William Abbott, (in black), Edwin Swift (in checked shirt) and Ian James Glover leaving Makadara Law Court on March 21, 2016 where they pleaded guilty of accessing a restricted area without permission. They were fined Shh200,000 each or 12 months. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The four were charged that on March 11 this year, they were arrested at East African Air Charter Hanger Airside without authority. They also refused to follow and cooperate with security officers.
  • The four who are said to have specialized in taking photos of planes, popularly known as ‘plane-spotters’ were arrested just 24 hours after one of them (Abbott) uploaded a picture on his Facebook page. The picture appeared to have been taken in Nairobi.

Four Britons were on Monday fined Sh200,000 each or spend a year in jail for entering a restricted area and refusing to follow instructions.

Mr Edwin Swift, Mr Paul William Abbott, Mr Stephen Gibson and Mr Ian James Glover pleaded guilty to the charges at Makadara Law Court on Monday.

The four were charged that on March 11 this year, they were arrested at East African Air Charter Hanger Airside without authority. They also refused to follow and cooperate with security officers.

The four had initially appeared before the same court on March 14, but could not take plea after police requested two more days to complete investigations.

Police had preferred two other charges of secretly filming air traffic while at the airport bar and using an app to monitor incoming flight times.

Although the two charges appeared on the charge sheet, they were formally dropped.

“The suspects entered a restricted area contrary to regulation 61 of the Civil Aviation Act number 21,” the prosecution told Makadara Senior Resident Magistrate Stephen Jalang’o.

The Regulation states that: “A person who, without lawful authority, enters a security restricted area commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding Sh1 million or to imprisonment not exceeding one year, or to both.”

Mr Jalang’o directed that the suspects pay a fine of Sh100,000 per offence failure to which they would be imprisoned for one year.

The four who are said to have specialized in taking photos of planes, popularly known as ‘plane-spotters’ were arrested just 24 hours after one of them (Abbott) uploaded a picture on his Facebook page. The picture appeared to have been taken in Nairobi.

A member of one of the accused was quoted by The Sun describing his brother Edward Swift and his colleagues as “just chaps who like taking pictures of planes.”

Initially, it was thought that the accused who had spent a week in custody at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) Police Station, would have been charged for offences related to terrorism. This is due to the recent cases of terror attacks in Kenya.