Standoff at JKIA as KQ crew demand ID from Wetangula

What you need to know:

  • Mr Wetang'ula spoke to his fellow passengers, saying he was at fault for the delay for not carrying his national ID, with the KQ crew insisting that it was a required procedure that all passengers identify themselves.

A Mombasa-bound Kenya Airways flight on Thursday evening was delayed for several hours after a standoff ensued when the crew insisted that Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang'ula must produce his national identity (ID) card.

All the passengers were told to disembark, with some of them worried that there could be a security issue in the plane.

“The plane was supposed to take off at 8.40pm, but we have been made to wait for several hours as arrangements are made for passengers to board a different plane,” said a Daily Nation reporter, Mr Jeremiah Kiplagat, one of the stranded passengers.

Mr Wetang'ula spoke to his fellow passengers, saying he was at fault for the delay because he was not carrying his ID card, with the KQ crew insisting that it was a required procedure that all passengers identify themselves.

Mr Kiplagat said passengers were moved to a different plane for their flight to Mombasa, ready for take-off from Nairobi some minutes after 11.30pm.

Some of the passengers had started posting on social media that their security might be at risk, before it was clarified that it was Mr Wetang'ula who did not have his identification document.