This archive report was first published on 21 November 2019.
On November 11, 2019, a Sky News documentary sparked outrage in Kenya when it identified Paul Manyasi as a stowaway who fell from a plane. However, further investigation revealed that the photos used in the documentary were incorrect.
The photos were actually of Cedric Isaac Shivonje, a 25-year-old remandee at Kamiti maximum-security prison, who is currently battling defilement charges. Shivonje's father, Isaac Beti, had traveled from Butali in Kakamega to visit his son in prison, where he was being held after failing to raise Ksh200,000 bail for an unrelated case.
Shivonje's emergence has complicated the identification dilemma of the man who fell from the plane on June 30. In a statement, Kenya Airports Authority said that the name Paul Manyasi 'does not appear in the JKIA staff register and in the airport's pass biometric register.' Colnet, a cleaning company based at the airport, also denied employing a Paul Manyasi.
Shivonje's father, Isaac Beti, admitted to misleading the Sky News team when they visited his home, and acknowledged that they had been handed Sh20,000 before they left. The family now plans to sue the British media house for defamation and alleged that Shivonje had to undergo cleansing after being declared dead.
