KENYA PILOTS ASSOCIATION SECRETARY GENERAL FACES JAIL FOR CONTEMPT OF COURT
(Posted 09th July 2015)
Ronald Karauri, the Secretary General of the Kenya Airline Pilots Association, is facing a contempt of court charge and will have to defend himself why he should not be jailed, something many airline executives think is long overdue.
The case this time is KALPA and him ignoring a court order when he called for a strike through public newspaper adverts last week, prompting the aggrieved party, Kenya Airways, to bring the matter to the court’s attention.
KALPA has been widely accused of gross incompetence when they demanded that jobs in the cockpit of two leased Bombardier Q400NextGen aircraft by the Kenya Airways’ subsidiary Jambojet, incidentally a separate legal entity from Kenya Airways, should be offered to the pilots of the airline first and foremost. This drew some acid criticism and demands to KALPA to show which of Kenya Airways’ pilots hold type ratings for the Bombardier twin turboprop aircraft over and above the Embraer and Boeing jets they are presently flying.
‘To the best of my knowledge none of the KQ pilots or Jambojet pilots holds a current type rating for the Q400. Let KALPA produce evidence therefore that KQ has such pilots. If they cannot show evidence they should just shut up and suffer the shame of yet another show of complete incompetence. They are belligerent and fork tongued. They talk of wanting to help KQ out of their present challenges and yet pile on the s***. If anyone asks why Ethiopian makes profits and prospers and why Kenya Airways does not, to a large part it is the unions messing up the airline. ET does not have such issues but we here in Kenya happily let unions destroy viable companies like KQ. That has to end’ ranted a regular aviation commentator on condition of anonymity under which cover he minced no words, some best not printed here. Another said that ‘… suggestions that KQ might wetlease planes and put pilots out of job is simply ludicrous. They own their entire fleet or else leased their aircraft and use their own crews to fly them. The Q400 case is unique and it is only this aircraft type which can serve Ukunda and Lamu, where the Embraer jets of Kenya Airways are simply too large for these airstrips. These aircraft types cannot fly there, full stop. What cuckoo land do these union officials live in one wonder. Demands that Jambojet uses Kenya Airways planes to fly to Ukunda is literally criminal because that airfield is not licensed to receive any of the jets KQ operates. The public must be told about that level of extreme incompetence or ignorance’.
Karauri faces up to three months in civil prison if found in contempt of course for having deliberately ignored existing court orders. Several other regular contributors suggested that if jailed it would hopefully calm down an individual known for his rabid attitude and, as one put it, outright hatred of Kenya Airways. Watch this space for regular and breaking news updates, especially the outcome of the court hearing where Karauri is put to his defence.
