The government has confirmed that a Kenya Airways (KQ) employee detained by the Democratic Republic of Congo Military Intelligence Unit has been released after a two-week detention.
According to Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing'oei, Lydia Mbotela, a KQ manager working in the DRC, was released after negotiations facilitated by Kenya's Military Attaché and Charge d'affaires.
"Deeply grateful to inform that Lydia Mbotela, KQ Manager in DRC, has just been released by the authorities in Kinshasa," PS Sing'oei revealed on Twitter.
"I commend the team at our Mission: our Military Attaché, the FRO and the Charge d'affaires, for this incredible work of negotiating our compatriot's release."
In late April, KQ Chief Executive Officer Allan Kilavuka confirmed the staffers' arrests by the Military Intelligence Unit in Kinshasa for "missing customs documentation on valuable cargo."
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Mr. Kilavuka, on the other hand, faulted Kinshasa authorities for arresting the duo, claiming that they were being held in violation of a court order and that the cargo in question had not been uplifted or accepted by KQ.
As the situation deteriorated, KQ suspended its flights to Kinshasha, stating that it was unable to provide its services effectively without its employees.
