How GSU officers have shamed Kenya in JKIA strike

Officers sent to respond to striking workers at JKIA have been put on the spot for how they carried out the operation.

JKIA has in the past been ranked as one of the busiest airports in the world serving up to 800,000 transit passengers in the months of May and June last year.

With hundreds of people connecting to different routes across the world, and thousands of visitors stranded in the airport, the GSU officers arrived with teargas canisters and hurled them to the workers ignorant of the innocent people at the airport.

“What a shame at JKIA! So instead of listening to the issues raised by the workers, they prefer to teargas them in full view of our guests. Brilliant,” Wambui Wanyaga said on Twitter.

Passengers were stranded at Kenya’s main airport on Wednesday after the Kenya Aviation Workers Union went on strike. Airlines have warned of possible disruptions to travel. Officers on ground used teargas to disperse protesting union workers.#JKIA #Airport #Strike #KenyaAirways pic.twitter.com/4w3WSrbS2W— CGTN Africa (@cgtnafrica) March 6, 2019

However, when asked why the government used excessive force to disrupt the demonstration at the airport on Wednesday, Transport CS James Macharia said:

“There is nothing like excessive force if you are protecting a security installation like this one. This is a high risk environment….we just don’t bring anybody into the airport.”

Aviation workers union SG Moss Ndiema arrested as anti-riot police lob teargas to disperse striking #JKIA workers.

KQ employee injured in the chaos.— Trevor Ombija (@TrevorOmbija) March 6, 2019

Yesterday @UKenyatta sent police to beat up all airport users. No one was spared.Why? Airport workers are resisting corruption, they don’t want the loss making KQ to run JKIA. Instead of listening to their grievances, state responded with sheer brutality.Kenya is a violent state. pic.twitter.com/RF0rWWuu38— Boniface Mwangi (@bonifacemwangi) March 7, 2019

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