Judge saves KQ staff from suspension and imminent arrest

By , K24 Digital
On Mon, 2 Mar, 2020 16:35 | < 1 min read
JKIA
A section of JKIA. PHOTO/File

High Court judge Weldon Korir on Monday ordered the reinstatement of Kenya Airways employee Gire Ali who was suspended from work for recording and sharing a video of a Chinese plane landing in Nairobi.

Justice Korir also issued an order barring the Director of Public Prosecution from arresting and charging him.

The suspended KQ worker moved to court on Monday seeking orders to avert arrest, arraigning and or charging over the film saga.

Through his lawyer Danstan Omari, Gire is also seeking court orders suspending the letter by dated 27th February 2020 suspending him from work until the hearing and determination of the case.

Gire, an assistant security agent at KQ, is facing an investigation after the Kenya Airports Authority wrote to the national carrier citing him for breaching security procedures.

Before moving to court, Gire was facing an imminent threat of arrest and arraignment over the alleged security breach.

“That the charges preferred against the Applicant/Petitioner arise out of an alleged act of video recording of China Southern Airline Aircraft at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and circulation of the video clip on social media on 26th February 2020,” reads court papers.

Gire argued that KQ seemed bent on punishing him for exposing to the public the threat to their lives posed by the letting in of 239 passengers from the coronavirus-hit China.

The KQ staff argued that the decision to suspend him in the wake of his video going viral was in bad faith and a brazen violation of public interest.