This archive report was first published on 8 January 2020.
January 8, 2020, marked another day of challenges for lawyer Miguna Miguna, who was set to arrive in Kenya on Air France Flight AF0814. However, he was removed from the flight before it took off.
According to Miguna's social media posts, he had comfortably seated himself in seat 22A when he was removed by Air France staff on behalf of the Kenyan authorities.
He expressed his disappointment and frustration through a series of tweets, stating that he had not been refunded his fare and that the airline's staff were rude.
One of his tweets read, 'I had comfortably seated about to take off then was removed from plane. You have not refunded my fare. Your staff were rude. Shame on @airfrance.'
He also tweeted, 'You have tortured and brutalized me; destroyed and vandalized my house. You continue to disobey multiple valid court orders and prevent me from buying my father-in-law and other family members. But you will never break my spirit and commitment.'
Responding to Miguna's claims, Air France stated that they had to deny him boarding due to international regulations governing air transport and a request from the Kenyan authorities.
They said in a statement, 'Dear Mister Miguna, we fully understand your disappointment but confirm, that to comply with international regulations governing air transport we were obliged to deny boarding as soon as we received the request of Kenyan authorities, as Lufthansa had to do it this morning.'
Reactions from Kenyans poured in, with many expressing their support for Miguna and condemning the actions of the Kenyan authorities.
