This archive report was first published on 29 October 2019.
On October 26, 2019, Martha Karua, Kenya's former Minister of Justice and leader of the Narc Kenya party, boarded a British Airways flight from Edinburgh City in the U.K to Nairobi, Kenya. However, her journey took an unfortunate turn when she lost her luggage.
According to Karua, the incident occurred when one of the officers at the Heathrow boarding station claimed her carry bag was too big for the cabin. Despite her previous experience of traveling with the same bag as hand luggage from Nairobi to Edinburgh in 2017 without any issues, the officer issued her a baggage tag, promising to ensure the bag was taken on board.
However, Karua's bag never made it to Nairobi. She claimed that the taking of her bag was 'discriminatory, high handed and unjustified'. The loss of her bag forced her to attend an important meeting in Addis Ababa without essential documents and necessities.
Karua further alleged that there were other passengers with bags of similar size and that there was enough space for her bag as the Nairobi-bound flight was half empty. She also pointed out that her bag had fitted in the overhead cabin without any problem in previous flights and was not overweight.
British Airways has not responded to Karua's allegations, but the incident has sparked concerns about the airline's handling of luggage and potential discriminatory practices.
