Nairobi News

Homa Bay County boasts of having Kabunde airstrip, the only functional airfield in South Nyanza.

The other air strips in the region are dormant with no regular flights.

The air transport facility which was built more than a decade ago has been identified as one of the infrastructural developments that will contribute to the economic growth of the lake side county as it connects to Kenya’s capital Nairobi.

But social media posts threaten to slow down its expansion and usage.

Kabunde Airstrip has lately been trending on social media for the wrong reasons.

One post even caught the attention of Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen who took to his Twitter account to make the facts right.

It started on June 6, 2023, a day after the CS flew from Nairobi to Homa Bay when aviation company Renegade Air was introducing a new flight to the county.

A video emerged showing a plane landing on a dusty airfield.

From the sides of the runway was a crowd that watched as the plane touched down.

At the end of the video is a man with dust all over his body purported to have boarded the aeroplane.

Some social media users claimed the flight was landing at Kabunde.

The video had many prospective passengers rethinking the decision to use the airstrip as many normally commute through Kisumu.

Mr Murkomen had to clear the air to save Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) and airline companies from getting losses as reduced numbers of passengers means less profit.

“Mko na mchezo sana. Kabunde is a very good airport,” the CS wrote on his Twitter page.

In the comments section, Home Bay Governor Gladys Wanga shared a picture of an aeroplane operated by Renegade Air landing at the airstrip.

It was landing on a tarmac runway with firefighters giving it a water salute.

More pictures with unkempt runways have since emerged on social media with users claiming it is Kabunde.

But the scariest image was one which showed blood on the side of an aircraft.

Some people claimed a flight operated by Renegade Air was landing at the airstrip before it hit a cow that had strayed on the runway.

The image was trending on social media on Monday and caused a scare.

Renegade Air had to issue a statement to protect their business interests.

The management of the aviation company said they are committed to the safety of their operators.

It went ahead to say that the image that was widely circulated is from Trinidad and Tobago.

“Kabunde is safe and secure. We look forward to welcoming you aboard our aircraft,” read part of the statement on their social media page.

After the introduction of the new flight, Ms Wanga directed all county staff to use Renegade Air when travelling to Nairobi.

As a sign of showing confidence on the use of air transport through Kabunde, the governor shared the statement on her Facebook page and told her followers to ignore rumors.

The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) also raised concern about misleading information about Kabunde airstrip.

Airstrip manager Wycliffe Kadoya said the airstrip is secure and assured passengers planning to use the facility that the authority is working round the clock to ensure safety.

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