Two activists claim they were attacked by a British man while waiting for their flight to the United States at a lounge in Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
As the two Americans – activist-educator Brittany Packnett and political pundit Symone Sanders- wrapped up an otherwise blissful trip to Nairobi, Kenya on Thursday evening, they were no doubt bracing themselves for a return to the daily grind.
What they were not expecting was to become victims of assault before they even boarded the plane.
Activists Brittany Packnett and Symone Sanders claim they were attacked on Thursday evening at a lounge managed by Kenya Airways by a white male.
Kenya Airways manages the lounge jointly with Delta Airlines. KQ reported that they are following up on the claims.
Britanny and Symone claim they were waiting to board a flight home when a man who they say was heavily intoxicated, walked into the lounge and caused a scene.
Ms Packnett told a journalist that the man “was speaking loudly and cursing at someone on the phone.”
Efforts by the lounge attendant to shut him down bore no fruit.
“I leaned over and said, ‘Pardon me. Will you please keep it down?”
Then, he began speaking even louder, Ms Sanders added.
“We look over again, and now he’s speaking in another language and giving us the middle finger…Mind you; we are sitting on the same bench,” she said.
“So I get up and ask again, ‘Sir, please. This is ridiculous; no one is being rude to you, and you terrorizing the people in this lounge is not OK.’ He continues giving me the middle finger. … I sit down, and then the flight attendant gets back up. Next thing we know, he jumps up and throws his water at the nearest person (Brittany) — like, drenches her whole body, then pushes her down. He lunges at her, then I jump in to defend her. It was terrifying,” she added.
She narrated the incident on a Twitter thread that accompanied by pictures of the assailant.
“I’ll be damned if I came all the way to Africa to be attacked by a white man,” she said, as she continued- condemning both the airport and Delta security for their slow response.