A Rwandan opposition leader was on Friday still stranded at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) after being denied access to a flight to Kigali, on Rwandan government orders.
Thomas Nahimana, a Catholic prelate and one of Rwanda’s most vocal and controversial opposition figures, has vowed to stay put at the airport after having been denied access to a Kenya Airways flight en route to Kigali.
He is accompanied by Venant Nkurunziza 33, Claire Nadine Kasinge, 36, and her seven-month-old baby Skyler Kejo.
“It is the government of Rwanda that asked Kenya Airways to prevent me from proceeding to Kigali. I will not leave the airport until we are granted the right to go to Rwanda, even if I will end up being persecuted there. I also hold a valid tourist visa for East Africa, which allows me to travel to any of the three countries — Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda,” Mr Nahimana, who holds a French passport, said.
Mr Nahimana, who has camped at JKIA since Wednesday, claims to have applied for a Rwandan passport at the Rwandan mission in Paris but the embassy took long to respond to his application, prompting him to use his French passport.
When reached by The EastAfrican, France’s Kenyan consular office declined to comment on the matter. Kenyan immigration and airport officials were unavailable for comment.
It is understood that the Rwandan Immigration Board sent a letter to the airlines operating to Kigali warning them against allowing Mr Nahimana from boarding a flight to Kigali.
“We indeed blocked Mr Nahimana from boarding our aircraft to Kigali on Wednesday,” Wanjiku Mugo, the corporate communications manager at Kenya Airways said.
“We had received a notice from Rwandan Directorate of Immigration on November 22 that he will not be admitted into the country. There is nothing we can do to help him because if we do take him on board, the Rwandan government will fine us and we will be asked to return him to Nairobi.” FULL STORY
