This archive report was first published on 8 May 2020.
On Thursday, May 7, 2020, a long-awaited repatriation flight from India, KQ 205, landed in Nairobi, bringing 234 Kenyans home after a long wait.
The flight, which departed Mumbai at 6:30 pm local time, was a result of the efforts of Kenya's High Commission in New Delhi, who had worked out the paperwork for the stranded Kenyans since March 23, 2020.
However, the flight also carried two bodies of passengers who had died before and after boarding. A passenger who had been sickly died before boarding, while another had died earlier.
Kenya's High Commissioner to India, Willy Bett, explained that the flight was purely a Kenyan flight, dismissing rumors that foreigners may have jumped on it. He added that the priority was given to patients and their caregivers, who were the most vulnerable.
"We have given priority to them because they are the most vulnerable," Mr. Bett said.
The repatriation flight was a result of a special permission granted to Kenya by Indian authorities, who still restricted land or air transport between cities.
Scattered across the vast Indian country, Kenyans had been taken to Mumbai through local flights, saving on the time needed to travel by road to the city.
Meanwhile, Kenyans who had sought repatriation from China will not receive waivers for travel tickets for the flight that was to bring them back to the country. The flight, which was to bring willing Kenyans in China on May 8, has been postponed to Saturday, May 9.
