748 Air claim first-round legal win over KQ
Renowned aviation company, 748 Air Services has been granted staying orders by a Nairobi court, preventing Kenya Airways and its agents from further executing eviction orders.
The airline on Monday filed a legal suit against Kenya Airways for malicious damage of its property worth millions of shillings and harassment of employees.
“In the interim, a temporary injunction be and is hereby issued restraining the plaintiff by itself or servants and/or agents from interfering with the defendant/Applicants quiet enjoyment use and occupation of the suit property pending interpartes hearing of this application,” said Milimani Commercial Courts, Principal Magistrate, Ms. A.N. Makau.
The court has also directed Commandant, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to ensure compliance of the said orders.
This follows an incident on Friday, July 23 2021, when around 15 armed police and more than 50 men raided 748 plaza along Airport North Road in Embakasi reportedly broke the premises entrance glassdoor, broke other doors, removed and extremely damaged office furniture and fittings.
In an affidavit dated July 26th, 2021, 748 Air Services Managing Director, Moses Mwangi said the Friday afternoon raid has disrupted normal operations at the Embakasi office and left the airline with significant losses.
“The actions of the plaintiff have caused and continue to cause great losses to our company, being an airline that has recently launched domestic flights to Kisumu, Mombasa, and Diani,” said Mr. Mwangi.
The airline’s personnel of over two hundred (200) employees are still unable to access the same premises and are not able to trace important documents, records, and machinery after the incident.
“We have always enjoyed peaceful and quiet occupation of the premises since the inception of our lease agreement on February, 1 2021 until the plaintiff and its agents raided our offices on 23rd July 2021,” said Mwangi.
748 Air Services has been paying rent for 748 Plaza premised on the parcel of land no. LR. No.9042/583 to African Airlines International limited (formerly African Express Airways International Limited).
The airline was in the process of completing renovations on suit premise before the raid, with renovation costs amounting to the tune of Ksh. 90 Million.
By the time the raid began, 748 Air Services had not been served an order to vacate the premises and had only learnt of an order served on the landlord of the premises, Captain Musa Hassan Bulhan, Managing Director, Africa Express Airways (k) Limited and African International Airlines Limited at 4.00 p.m before Kenya Airways agents removed his office items.
In a certificate of urgency filed by the company on Monday through its lawyers, 748 Air Services is seeking to be heard on a priority basis, because the orders issued on July 16, 2021, continue to have far-reaching adverse impacts.
748 Air Services has since notified its esteemed customers that all flights including recently launched domestic flights to Kisumu, Mombasa, and Diani, and cargo services will continues as scheduled.