A Kenya Airways employee has been suspended for filming and sharing video of a China Southern flight's arrival in Nairobi. The incident took place on 26 February at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

Incident details

It is unclear exactly what the video revealed and whether it included the passengers of the China Southern flight. However, we do know that the incident surrounds the 26 February flight of CZ6043 from Changsha, China. The flight landed at 07:29 and was met with a hostile reception as medical officials at the airport were refusing to screen passengers. The passengers were not allowed to leave the plane for almost an hour.

According to a source, senior government officials were forced to intervene to resolve the problem: "All 239 passengers were screened on board, cleared and advised to self-quarantine for the next 14 days," said the Ministry of Health.

Kenya Airways employee, Gire Ali, filmed some aspect of this incident and shared it on social media. The next day he was given a letter from management informing him that he was being suspended for his actions. Below is part of the letter given to Ali:

“Following a report of video recording of China Southern Airline aircraft at JKIA and circulation of the video clip widely on social media on 26 February 2020, and your alleged involvement in the matter, it has been decided that you be suspended from duty with effect from 27 February 2020 in accordance with provision of clause 16.5 of the Company Hit Policy Manual”

"Yes, it is true, what is trending is true they have suspended me," said Ali, speaking with Kenyan media.

What's the exact reason for the suspension?

The details are unclear for why Mr. Ali was suspended. Kenyan media say that the airline is accusing him of "exposing poor handling and management of passengers" arriving from China.

If the video was made public, it has proven difficult to find. In fact, the only evidence Simple Flying could find was a screen capture shown on a Kenyan news website. The image shows Chinese passengers, all masked, standing on the tarmac beside the aircraft.

In the absence of a straightforward explanation, there are a number of possibilities for Ali's suspension. The first is that he exposed the simple fact that a plane from China had landed in Kenya, full of Chinese passengers. The second possibility is that his video revealed medical staff reluctance to screen the passengers and/or an improper screening procedure.

Due to the responses of many Kenyans on social media, it seems to be the former. In fact, many have come to Ali's defense - calling him a hero - saving the country from the virus. Below is just a sample of such responses:

Fear and panic rising

Extreme caution and alertness have taken over much of the world as new cases of coronavirus have appeared in new countries this week. In fact, Nigeria recently reported its first case, making it the first in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Kenyan ministry of health has advised citizens against non-essential travel to countries hit by the epidemic. A list of countries that is growing every day.

Conclusion

One could see Mr. Ali's post as one that spreads fear rather than exposing some form of wrongdoing. The arrival of flights like this is not kept a secret with schedules openly posted online. Thus it begs the question of why he has been given the term 'whistleblower' by so many. These passengers would have been screened by medical staff regardless of where the flight was coming from.

Do you think the suspension of the Kenya Airways employee was fair? Is the term 'whistleblower' accurate? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.