Tuesday September 18, 2018
Kenya Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi
On Monday, six foreign pilots were arrested at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) for operating without work permits.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi is reported to have signed their deportation papers on Tuesday.
A multi-agency team conducting the operation revealed they were looking for more pilots who are in
Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) Director General Capt Gilbert Kibe stated he was not aware the pilots did not have work permits.
"If there are some who do not have work permits that is news to me and they should be punished accordingly. I support authorities in this,” he remarked.
Those arrested include an Algerian, one from Sudan, a Honduran, one from DRC Congo and 2Canadians.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, an immigration official revealed that the pilots operated flights in and out of the country.
The official further disclosed that they were looking for four other Congolese pilots operating from JKIA to Somali for lack of work permits.
In the past one month, more than 2,000 foreigners have been deported in a move aimed at streamlining the process of issuing work permits.
The immigration department has also dispatched a 173-page register to all police stations to help identify foreigners allowed to work in the country.
Unlike the past, foreigners seeking to come to work in Kenya now have to apply for permits while in their home countries before they obtain visas to travel.