Kenya Airways (KQ) announced the suspension of flights to DR Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, due to the “unlawful” detention of two employees by military intelligence.
The airline made the announcement on Monday via a statement on X, formerly Twitter, citing the inability to operate flights without essential personnel.
The suspension is set to commence on Tuesday.
On 19 April, two KQ employees were detained by the Military Detection of Anti-Homeland Activities (DEMIAP) for alleged “missing customs documentation on valuable cargo,” according to the airline.
However, the KQ CEO clarified that the cargo in question was not accepted or uplifted by KQ due to incomplete documentation.
During the arrest, the employees’ phones were confiscated, and access to them was denied until 23 April when Embassy officials and the KQ team were permitted to visit them.
Kenya Airways urged the Congolese military to release the detained employees to their families.
As of now, DR Congo’s government has not issued any official statement regarding the situation.