Pilots arrested for evading trade ban

The Kenyan government has said it has arrested three pilots and seized two aircraft for violating the trade ban with Somalia. The pilots had been accused of flying across Kenya's northeastern border, and giving false information to Kenya Airports Authority officers at Wilson Airport in Nairobi, the Kenyan 'Daily Nation' said on Tuesday.

Two of the pilots were seized at Wilson Airport on 31 August by armed policemen on their return from northern Kenya. Another was arrested at Dadaab airstrip, in an isolated area of North Eastern Province which borders on Somalia.

Although the pilots denied the charge, the North Eastern provincial police chief, Alex Rono, told the 'Daily Nation' they had been unable to explain why they had not flown directly to Dadaab, or why their aircraft were carrying no cargo when they finally landed there several hours later. According to Rono, the authorities were aware that more aircraft were flying to Somalia after leaving Wilson Airport. "Some do not land in North Eastern Province, and fly directly to Somalia. Our role is only to confirm that they landed at the stipulated airstrip," he said.

Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi, who announced the ban on 28 July, said Kenya could only deal with a legitimate government in Somalia, and that the move was aimed at curbing the flow of small arms into Kenya. However, the business communities in Kenya and Somalia had found ways of evading the ban, including transporting qat (leaves of Catha edulis, a mildly narcotic shrub also known as miraa) to Kenyan towns on the border, from where it was being smuggled into Somalia on trucks; or by briefly landing aircraft at the border towns after returning from direct flights to Somalia in an attempt to confuse security officers, the 'Daily Nation' said.