NAIROBI: The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) board has defended its decision to sack the authority’s former Managing Director, Ms Lucy Mbugua, and two other senior managers.
The board termed the decision taken as ‘sound’ and meant to rescue the international airport from poor management practices.
The board told the National Assembly Committee on Transport that its decision to send Mbugua home was not based on malice or ill-motive as claimed, but on sound grounds that necessitated the dismissal.
The board also accused the sacked officials of lacking accountability over the lease of the controversial airport apron bus service.
Board chairman David Kimaiyo told the Maina Kamanda-led committee that contrary to allegations by the affected parties, the board acted within its mandate.
“We have no malice at all. We do not even know some of these officers but we acted within our responsibility because some of the issues facing the officers in question bordered on criminality,” said Kimaiyo when he appeared yesterday before the House committee.
He added, “If as a board we find that your services are wanting and thus not needed, we will not hesitate to tell you as much. If we want to have a serious airport, we must have serious people running it,” said Kimaiyo.
On the contentious issue of leasing of the five-ramp passenger buses that are at the centre of the sacking of Mbugua, General Manager John Thumbi and Airport Engineer Christopher Warutere, the chairman reckoned that the procurement process was shrouded in controversy and denied claims that the board had approved the bus deal.
Kimaiyo revealed that the KAA management had during a board meeting on February 18, this year made the board to believe that the five buses were owned by the State corporation. “We were shocked and surprised during another meeting on April 22 to learn that the buses are not owned by KAA.
This was the first time we had received information on the buses,” explained Kimaiyo to the parliamentary committee. Kimaiyo further disclosed that airlines operating at the facility who were expected to charge their clients so as to raise funds for the bus services were never consulted by the KAA management on the matter. Another board member, Kelvin Kariuki Kihara, told the committee that the buses were “smuggled” into KAA without duty being paid to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).
“The business for these buses was upside-down from day one. No duty was ever paid and they were actually smuggled into the country,” claimed Kihara as he tabled documents from KRA’s Simba system to back his claim.
