Kenya Govt Acts on JKIA Officials Asking Bribes to Allow Travelers Board Planes

The government of Kenya is currently investigating allegations of bribery at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

The Chairman of Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) Caleb Kositany has confirmed that the government is investigating bribery claims within the establishment. Last week, Clay Onyango made allegations that airport staff in Kenya are demanding bribes amounting to Sh50,000 to allow citizens to travel to Canada. Aside from this, he accused the airport officials of harassing tourists with visas and obliging them to pay bribes before boarding flights. Kositany shared screenshots suggesting that the authorities attempted to reach out to Clay right after he disclosed bribery claims in his TikTok videos on October 5.

Kositany asked Clay to submit more details regarding Kenyans holding tourist visas who were denied access to Toronto, Canada, with JKIA staff intervention. Clay has not responded to attempts by JKIA officials to reach him but his social media accounts reveal that he continued to question the competence of airport staff. In response to these allegations, Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has vowed to carefully administer JKIA functions hoping to better manage and organize the airport processes.
In August, the airport's backup generators broke down and CS Murkomen immediately announced a crackdown on illegal operations at the Airport.

In October 2022, an official from the customs division of the Kenya Revenue Authority stationed at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport was detained by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission. The basis for the arrest rested upon accusations of soliciting a bribe and facilitating tax evasion. Upon arrest, the individual was subsequently transported to Integrity Centre Police Station for booking and questioning. According to reports from the EACC, the customs official had demanded Sh 35,000 from someone attempting to obtain a laptop sent to Kenya from a relative in the United States.

The laptop in question incurred a taxation rate of Sh100,974 initially but was fraudulently assigned a lower value by the KRA customs official, thereby paying only Sh 12,000. The official sought a bribe for facilitating waived fees, leading to her apprehension while in the act of receiving it.