This archive report was first published on 6 July 2020.
On July 4, 2020, a plane carrying 13.6 tons of miraa worth Sh8 million was turned back from entering Ethiopian airspace on its way to Hargeisa, Somaliland. The chartered flight had taken off from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Saturday.
The Nyambene Miraa Traders Association (Nyamita) has protested the incident, with Chairman Kimathi Munjuri stating that they had obtained all necessary clearance certificates to take off from JKIA and had permission from Somaliland to transport miraa.
According to Munjuri, all other permits from the Kenyan government had been secured, and the traders had bought miraa from farmers in Meru on Thursday and transported it to Nairobi on Friday night.
However, before the plane entered the Ethiopian airspace, it was ordered to turn back, resulting in significant losses to the miraa traders. The lobby is now seeking to know who and why the flight was turned back.
"Actually when the news reached Hargeisa there was almost a riot because there is no miraa reaching them from Ethiopia," Munjuri said.
The traders are now calling for remedial action by relevant agencies, including the Kenya Airports Authority, to ensure that such incidents do not recur.
Johnson Mungathia, a miraa trader, added that the miraa growing community wants the county and national governments to engage with neighboring countries to enable access to airspaces for miraa flights.
"We want neighboring countries to open up their airspaces to miraa flights, to ensure there is a trade between all the people," said Mungathia.
