With the sudden spate of defections which rocked Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Alliance Coalition Party immediately after the August poll seeming to have ease up for a while now, fears of a re-emergence of this have rocked the Opposition camp following the latest statement by one of Raila Odinga’s most ardent supporters
Prominent lawyer and ardent Raila follower Donald Kipkorir has come out to defend one of William Ruto’s controversial projects.
The lawyer who is also representing suspended IEBC commissioner Irene Masit in a case of abuse of power claimed that the president is absolutely right in his move to sell off Kenya Airways. He argued that many top countries don’t even have national carriers and Kenya shouldn’t be special.
Donald B Kipkorir
@DonaldBKipkorir
On Kenya Airways, I am on one page with President William Ruto. Many developed countries don’t have national airlines. Lufthansa owns Swiss & Austrian national carriers. US doesn’t have. Let KQ be sold for us$1 to Qatar Airlines or IAG.
It was reported that Kenya’s President William Ruto last week made a pitch to sell a controlling stake in the country’s national carrier Kenya Airways to US investors as a path of returning the struggling airline to profitability.
On Wednesday, Kenya’s Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said the search for strategic partners for Kenya Airways tops the list of President Ruto’s mission to America.
US President Joe Biden hosted the US-Africa summit last week and discussed the 2023 elections and democracy in the continent with about 50 African heads of state.
On Kenya Airways, a deal would see the state cut its shareholding from 48.9 percent and reduce the ownership of lenders who converted their debt to a 38 percent stake.
Air France-KLM owns a small stake in Kenya Airways and it remains to be seen if the multinational, previously KQ’s anchor shareholder, will sell its remaining 7.76 percent interest.
Mr Murkomen reckoned that the state is seeking a fresh equity investor who is expected to inject capital and offer management expertise in the next step of restructuring.
The Kenyan national carrier has received multi-billion shilling state bailouts amid delayed recovery from a travel slump following Covid-19 which saw travel curbs put in place to control the spread of the disease.
The fresh restructuring plan comes after the state dropped the favoured long-term solution that was anchored on the nationalisation of the airline.
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