The head of Kenya’s airports authority, Alex Gitari, has been fired after a power cut left passengers stranded in darkness for hours at Nairobi’s main airport.
Gitari was sacked by Transport Minister Kipchumba Murkomen, who has apologised for the chaos, according to BBC.
He added that political interference had gave birth to a demoralised and disorganised workforce in the East African country.
The majority state-owned power company has not explained exactly what caused the countrywide power cut.
Although, some areas have seen power restored, homes and businesses across much of the country are still affected by the outage that began on Friday.
Tourism is a key part of Kenya’s economy, accounting for about 10% of GDP at the last count by government. The sector is also one of the East African nation’s top sources of hard currency.
Kenyans on social media are outraged that the main airport did not have functioning back-up generators.
In addition to Gitari, another senior civil aviation authority official has been sacked and the manager of Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport has been demoted to a role at Mombasa’s main airport.
Meanwhile, there have been chaotic scenes and long queues at the entrances to Kenya’s national parks after the digital payment system failed.
Power cuts are not unusual in Kenya, but such a lengthy countrywide outage with Nairobi’s main airport, hospitals and even State House plunged into darkness is rare.
Vanguard / Titilayo Kupoliyi
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