Kenya Airways defends decision to suspend Gire Ali over Chinese plane video

Kenya Airways has come out to defend its decision to suspend an employee identified as Gire Ali, who filmed and shared a video showing a China Southern Airlines plane with 239 passengers landing at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

The national carrier said the process was conducted in a fair and transparent manner, maintaining that Ali remains on full salary as investigations into the incident continue.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Kenya Airways said described recording and circulation of the video as a “breach of airside security procedures.”

“On 26th February 2020, KQ received a letter from the KAA stating that there had been a breach of airside security procedures at JKIA involving one of our employees. In accordance with standard HR procedure, the employee was suspended to allow a full investigation to take place to determine the facts of the matter,” reads the statement in part.

“The process will be conducted expeditiously in a fair and transparent manner, and in the meantime, the employee remains on full pay and retains all the legal rights.

pic.twitter.com/9wEezWJJN2

— Kenya Airways (@KenyaAirways) March 1, 2020

The suspension of Ali elicited public uproar withe Kenyans online coming out to castigate the national carrier.

The letter of suspension signed by Chief Human Resources Officer Evelyne Munyoki stated that the recording was contrary to provision 16.2 of the company’s HR policy manual.