KLM have now gone and done it! In one of the usual barrel shoots that occur at airports all over the world, KLM have gone and slugged the wrong fish.
Recently, while on his way to a conference in Brazil, a senior UN official received a right bollocking at the airport in Nairobi and he is not taking it lying down. In fact he has sat up and launched into a flying kick of a response – spearheaded by a prominent Nairobi law firm, Murgor and Murgor – that has left the airline scrambling for cover and engaging the equally prolific law firm, Hamilton, Harrison & Mathews, to buy them time as they compose themselves and presumably to find, debrief and distance themselves from the idiot that did not realise that this was no ordinary third-world passport bearing pleb – for whom carte blanche on harassment is generally granted – but one of those big-wigs for whom they had a separate rule book.
Bakari Kante, the director of the Division of Environmental Law and Conventions at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi is, in my opinion, the victim of the very same problem I spoke about in an earlier blog. He just comes from one of those places that people at airports have inexplicably decided should not be allowed free travel.
According to the Business Daily, Kante was stopped by KLM security officials who accused him of having a fake Brazilian visa – in his diplomatic passport no less. What made the situation even worse was the fact that his Austrian assistant was allowed through without them even looking at his visa which was probably endorsed onto his Laissez Passer at the same embassy and at the same time as Kante’s.
Kante and his lawyers are accusing the airline of discrimination along racial and religious lines.
I’ll be watching this case very closely as finally, a champion for my plight with significant enough profile has emerged.
I wonder if they demanded a yellow fever certificate?
Boss, the critical thing here is the role miro’s play in their own discrimination. The first person to question passengers and put them aside at the KLM check in is a miro. There are many similarities/parallels.
The KK Security guards at the American Embassy treat their fellow Kenyans appallingly ! Shouts, aggression, general nastiness. It actually is a relief when you finally encounter a white face at the counter, who, whether or not they end up giving you a visa, are actually polite about it.
The guards at the beach hotels where they tell you ‘only guests’ allowed in. Pseudonym for white folk only. Please follow the link below for my old school mate, who runs one of Kenya’s most successful tour operators experience last year
http://www.mombasa.travel/tour-operator-sues-over-discrimination.
The airport officials (black indigenous kenyan) who collude with immigration officials (black indigenous kenyan). The officials are in the pay of Kenyan Asians who they meet at gate, rush them through immigration (they jump the queue-with their British passports). The Asians are not even carrying their own passports. The miro carries, it, hands it over to the immigration official (having left all of us standing in the queue), it is stamped, and off they head for the luggage carousel. All the while the Asian is talking to some-one on their mobile phone. Happens every time I hit JKIA. I once saw a mzungu try and jump the queue at immigration in Addis Ababa, and the officials requested him to go to the back. When he gave lip (he most likely had spent his previous life in Kenya) he was physically manhandled into the cell/holding area. I thought to myself how a scene like that can never be witnessed in Kenya.
The Kenyan policeman (black indigenous kenyan), who seeing me standing outside my gate in Tshirt and shorts, asks me whether I work in that residence. (This is probably a me thing, because I somehow don’t see them asking some of my neighbours -Njonjo or Kibaki- the same question).
The estate agent (black indigenous kenyan) at Kenya Valuers, Village Market Branch who explained to me that I would not be able to lease one of the houses she had on offer because it was in an Asian compound, and the Asians would not have any of it.
The list is long.
And the above attitude of black on black discrimination and subservience to other races is what leads to the below.
Our is the only country I have seen in the world (you can tell me of another if you have seen it) where the native population lies at the bottom of every social or economic index while immigrants and foreigners are at the top of the same indices.
Every upmarket neighbourhood has a white/Asian majority with a sprinking of miros.
Seen the construction sites with Asian nyaparas and miro labourers
Observed in traffic on a rainy afternoon, the pick-ups and vans with three Asians in front and a horde of miros being rained on at the back?
Jivunie kuwa Mkenya indeed.
I wrote the following to the writer of the article on Business Daily, to share my experiences and support the UN diplomats law suite.
Dear Sir and/or Madam,
I was delighted to read the article you wrote below;
http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/UN+diplomat+beckons+KLM+for+discrimination+duel+/-/539546/1400592/-/item/0/-/j44qg6/-/index.html
I fully support the case as I have personally experienced discrimination at JKA airport from KLM officials.
It happened in January 2008. I was queing at the check-in counter on my way back to Germany where I was then residing.
From behind me came a kenyan girl dressed in KLM uniform and asked to check my passport.
I willingly produced my german passport and she went through it.
She then again asked if I had any other means of identification. I was puzzled by this question but was not in a mood for fighting. So I also gave her my german ID.
She looked at it and returned my documents satisfied.
Shortly afterwards came a white european girl and stood on the queue behind me.
I waited to see if she would also undergo the same security procedure I had just been put through.
When nothing happened. I walked over the KLM security girl and asked why she was not checking the white girl.
She explained that she was only required to check the africans. She’d only checked me and another african who was ahead of me in the queue.
At this point I could not contain my anger any longer and had a heated debate with her.
She explained to me that she was only following instructions from above and failure to do so would cost her her job.
I realized I was probably addressing the wrong person and needed to escalate to a higher level.
However, I could afford to miss my flight and promised to take up the issue on my return.
Unfortunately, I’ve not been in Nairobi since then.
I was delighted to ready you article and fully support the UN diplomat in his quest for justice.
I’ve lived in Europe for many years and experienced discrimination as an african or a foreigner.
To experience the same discrimination in my home country/continent is incredible. Where is our self dignity?
Best Regards,
Gachago Gachago
Johannesburg, South Africa