The Managing Director of the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA), Alex Gitari, found himself at the center of attention as operations came to a halt at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) due to a sudden power outage, causing inconvenience to stranded travelers.
In response, Kenya’s Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary, Kipchumba Murkomen, made a significant announcement. He declared the termination of Alex Gitari’s contract as the Managing Director of KAA. The decision came in the wake of a nationwide power blackout that left the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, the busiest airport in East Africa, embarrassed and inoperable. Fred Odawo, the Engineering General Manager, also faced the consequences of the blackout, losing his position in the aftermath.
Despite having commissioned two backup generators for the airport, the blackout persisted for several hours, revealing a critical failure in the power supply system.
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, renowned as East Africa’s busiest and a prominent gateway to other African nations, plays a pivotal role in attracting tourists and businesses to Nairobi.
Taking over from Alex Gitari is Henry Ogoye, who currently holds the position of Head of Corporate Planning. He steps in as the Acting Managing Director of KAA. Meanwhile, Eng Samuel Mwochache assumes the role of General Manager, Engineering, on an interim basis.
Minister Murkomen emphasized that the termination of contracts was a result of mutual agreement. Further adjustments were made as part of the reshuffling. JKIA airport manager Alex Gogo was relocated to Moi International Airport in Mombasa, replacing Peter Wafula, who, in turn, was reassigned to Kisumu International Airport. Ms. Selina Gor, formerly the Airport Manager at Kisumu International Airport, was appointed to oversee operations at JKIA.
“I wish to issue unreserved apology to all travellers and airport users who were affected in one way or the other by the power disruption at JKIA,” Mr. Murkomen said.
The largest and “the jewel” of this busy hub, Terminal 1A, was hit by the outage, according to Mr. Murkomen.
He stated that the runways and the control tower were unaffected.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the incident though regrettable did not pose any danger to our incoming and outgoing flights and passengers considering that the backup generator lighting the runway and control tower was seamlessly deployed when the blackout occurred and at no time did we have an iota of darkness on the runway and the tower,” he said.
The incident, the minister said, was inexcusable and “we should have prepared for this, and we are not allowed to give any excuses.”
According to Mr. Murkomen, KAA has started the process of hiring permanent employees to fill these posts, and the process will be finished in the next two weeks.
“In order to ensure that a similar incident is not replicated, it has been decided that the two generators that were procured more than two years ago be immediately commissioned,” said Mr. Murkomen.
He went on: “I assure the country and the world that we have taken measures to enhance capacity of technical experts in the engineering department to ensure this incident does not recur.”