This archive report was first published on 14 November 2019.
Kenya Airways Stowaway Saga: Unanswered Questions ¶
Four and a half months have passed since a middle-aged man fell off a Kenya Airways Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner in London on a sunny June 30 afternoon. The incident has left aviation stakeholders and travelers with more questions than answers.
On June 30, 2019, a mystery man fell off a Kenya Airways Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner in London, sparking a series of unanswered questions. The incident has raised concerns about security lapses at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi.
According to a Sky News investigative report, the stowaway was identified as 29-year-old Paul Manyasi, a cleaner at Colnet Cleaning Services, a firm contracted by the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) to keep the JKIA clean. However, Manyasi's identity has been disputed, with his father, Isaac Manyasi, and his wife claiming that their son's name is Cedric Shivonje, who was allegedly arrested for defilement and locked up at the Industrial Area Remand Prison in Nairobi.
But a day after the story was published, the man and woman changed their tune, denying that Paul was their son and claiming that their son's name is Cedric Shivonje. This has raised more questions about the identity of the stowaway and whether he is the same person as Paul Manyasi.
According to one of Manyasi's friends, it is possible that the alleged 'Cedric' is their buddy Manyasi, whose mission for a better life in Europe ran into headwinds, quite literally. The friend claimed that Manyasi had a habit of using other people's identities, including giving a different identity when he was taken to court for a defilement case.
On Wednesday, the Nation contacted the officers who run Industrial Area Remand Prison, seeking to put a face to the name Shivonje. The officials' response was that there is no inmate by that name. This has raised more questions about the existence of the alleged 'Cedric Shivonje' and whether he is the same person as Paul Manyasi.
Despite the denials by KAA and Colnet that Manyasi worked for them at the airport, the breach of security protocols at the JKIA has raised concerns about the security lapses at the airport. According to a security expert, the breach is likely to complicate matters for Kenya, which in 2017 acquired Category 1 status, making direct flights possible to New York's John F. Kennedy Airport.
The stowaway's unauthorized penetration may lead to the downgrading of JKIA's status, whether KAA and Colnet accept or deny that Manyasi was their worker. The incident has raised more questions about how Manyasi climbed into the wheel well undetected and whether any of the pilots, crew, cargo handlers, and ground staff knew about his journey to death.
