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How Martha Karua lost her bag on British Airways flight

By Hilary Kimuyu October 29th, 2019 2 min read

Kenya’s former Minister of Justice Martha Karua is crying for justice after she lost her luggage aboard a British Airways plane over the weekend.

The Narc-Kenya party leader has filed a complaint with the airline after she lost her bag during her recent trip from the UK to Nairobi.

LOST BAG

In the complaint which she filled with the airline on Monday, Ms Karua says the incident happened while she was traveling from Edinburgh to Nairobi on October 26, 2019.

She explained that while at the Heathrow boarding gate one of the British Airways officers took her to carry on bag and checked it telling her that it was too large to fit in the cabin.

Martha Karua's complaint letter to British Airways over her lost bag. PHOTO | COURTESY
Martha Karua’s complaint letter to British Airways over her lost bag. PHOTO | COURTESY

“My journey started at Edinburgh Airport where I checked in one bag through to Nairobi and remained with a carry bag, but the airline officer claimed that it was too large for the cabin. I did not resist. She issued me with a baggage tag promising to ensure that it was taken on board,” wrote Ms Karua.

Upon landing at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), Karua could not find her bag, which she says contained her toiletries and documents for a meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia the next day.

‘DISCRIMINATION’

“I traveled to the meeting (in Addis) without my vital documents and necessities contained in my missing bag,” she adds.

Karua has termed the British Airways staff’s action as ‘discriminatory, high handed and unjustified.

“The taking of my bag at the boarding gate by your staff was not only unjustified but also discriminatory and high handed,” she says.

“In any event, my said bag had fitted in the overhead cabin without any problem in the immediate previous flights outlined above. Additionally, the Nairobi bound flight was half empty,” she said.

The airline has since responded to the complaint, asking her to send them a private message on Twitter with her full details.