By Brian Okoth
Kenya's leading airport, the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in the capital Nairobi, has been a hot potato for the country's Transport Minister Kipchumba Murkomen.
Murkomen is accused by a section of Kenyans of neglecting the airport, which ranks seventh in Africa on passenger traffic, according to the Airports Council International (ACI).
From repeated power blackouts, to noisy baggage carrousels, JKIA's state needs urgent intervention, according to many disgruntled Kenyans on social media.
In a video footage currently being shared widely on X social network, formerly Twitter, arriving passengers can be seen waiting for their luggage as the conveyor belt of the baggage carrousel moves while producing a screeching sound.
Leaking roofs
During the rainy season in Kenya, several video clips were posted on social media showing flooded walkways and leaking roofs within the airport's premises.
To many, JKIA's condition is deteriorating at a fast pace, and a quick intervention is needed.
In efforts to address the occasional power outages, the government said it would acquire new standby generators that have minimal delay in kicking in whenever there's a major blackout.
On leaking roofs and poor drainage, Murkomen blamed contractors who worked on the airport during the rule of former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
'Pathetic' state
"When we got into office, we found out that many of our airports were in a pathetic state, and JKIA is leaking as a result of that," he said in November 2023.
Murkomen, who spoke in Kenya's coastal county of Kwale, said he had directed the contractor, who undertook the renovations at JKIA, to redo the repairs.
The minister, who was interviewed on Kenya's privately-owned Citizen Television on Monday, said JKIA's highlighted problems will be fully resolved before Kenya's next general election in 2027.
"By the time we'll be going to the next elections, we will have a new terminal that is complete, or almost complete. It will make JKIA a more competitive airport, with facilities that are enviable," Murkomen said.
'Amplifying negativity'
Murkomen also took to his X social media page on Tuesday to ask a section of aggrieved Kenyans, including a prominent journalist, to "stop amplifying negativity" that "builds a false (and) imbalanced image of Kenya."
In April 2015, Kenya built Terminal 2 at JKIA at a cost of 1.7 billion Kenyan shillings ($17.4 million) to ease congestion, and now Murkomen says the government is in the process of constructing another terminal.
According to the Airports Council International (ACI), JKIA is the seventh-busiest airport in Africa, behind Egypt's Cairo International Airport, South Africa's OR Tambo International Airport and Cape Town International Airport, Morocco's Mohammed V Airport, Egypt's Hurghada International Airport, and Ethiopia's Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.
The data, which shows JKIA processed 6.6 million passengers in 2022, was retrieved from passenger traffic records at the respective airports.
Primary getaway to East and Central Africa
Almost 4.7 million (72%) of the passengers who passed through JKIA were international travellers, indicating the importance of the facility in connecting East Africa to other parts of the world.
JKIA was opened for commercial air traffic in 1958. At the time, it was being called Embakasi Airport.
In March 1978, its name was changed to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in honour of Kenya's founding president Mzee Jomo Kenyatta.
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