Senior Counsel Paul Muite has demanded for more than Sh 3 million from Kenya Airways following the cancellation of a flight from Zanzibar to Nairobi, which he says left them stranded for hours and forced them to incur substantial additional expenses by chartering a private jet.
Through Lawyer Maina Ngaruiya, Muite and his family have issued a seven-day demand to the national carrier seeking reimbursement of expenses, damages and compensation arising from the cancellation and alleged mishandling of Flight KQ491 on August 31, 2026.
According to the demand letter dated September 7, Muite had purchased tickets for himself and his family to travel from Zanzibar to Nairobi aboard KQ491, which was scheduled to depart at approximately 10:10am.
According to the letter, the lawyer was with his wife, two daughters and two grandchildren when they were stranded in Zanzibar. He says they were aware of industrial action affecting Kenya Airways operations and had been monitoring the airline’s online platform before travelling to the airport. He claims the flight continued to be displayed as scheduled and “on time”, prompting them to proceed to Abeid Amani Karume International Airport.
However, at approximately 8:10am, after they had checked in and received boarding passes, the airport information board allegedly changed the status of KQ491 to “DELAYED”. Muite and the other passengers claim they remained at the airport for several hours without adequate information before eventually being informed at about 3:45pm that the flight had been cancelled, approximately five hours and 35 minutes after its scheduled departure.
They further accuse Kenya Airways of failing to provide alternative transportation, accommodation, food vouchers or other adequate assistance following the cancellation. They subsequently secured a private charter flight at a cost of USD 20,500, in addition to KSh52,650 in related charter expenses, to enable them to return to Nairobi.
They are also demanding a 50 per cent refund of the Sh 596,450 return-ticket cost, amounting to Sh 298,225. Based on the specific monetary amounts listed in the demand letter, the claim stands at USD 20,500 plus KSh350,875. At an exchange rate of roughly KSh129 to the dollar, that translates to approximately KSh2.99 million, before adding other documented expenses and general damages, which have not been quantified in the letter.
Muite says the disruption also affected his professional commitments, claiming he arrived in Nairobi a day later than scheduled and was forced to postpone meetings he had planned to attend. He is also additionally seeking general damages for inconvenience, frustration, distress and disruption, as well as reimbursement for any other reasonable and properly documented expenses arising from the cancellation and alleged mishandling of the flight.
They have also demanded a written explanation from Kenya Airways on why KQ491 continued to be represented as operating on time, why passengers were assured the flight was operating, and why they were allowed to check in and proceed through immigration before being informed several hours later that the flight had been cancelled.
The lawyers have given Kenya Airways seven days to resolve the matter, warning that failure to comply will result in court proceedings seeking recovery of the amounts claimed, damages, interest and legal costs.
