Mudavadi: Kenya allowed Gaza nationals fleeing Israel to transit through JKIA to South Africa
By Mabonga Makhanu, November 22, 2025Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Affairs CS Musalia Mudavadi has clarified that the Kenyan government authorised a plane carrying 150 Gaza nationals from Israel to transit through Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) en route to South Africa.
Speaking to the media on Friday, November 21, 2025, Mudavadi addressed reports suggesting that Kenya was unaware of the plane’s layover.
He stated that the government was fully informed and had allowed the plane to land at JKIA and continue its journey to South Africa.
He further explained that the monitoring of all aircraft passing through Kenyan airspace falls under the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA). The authority had received information about the flight and cleared it to proceed to its destination.
“Nataka niambie Wakenya kwamba ndege zote zinaingia Kenya. KCAA ina uwezo wa kutrack kujua ni ndege gani inaingia, ama wanaelekea wapi. Yale yalitangazwa kwamba Kenya haijui nini kilifanyika. Tulijua. Ndege hio ilipata idhini.”
“Walisema wanataka wapite, na wanaelekea kwengine. Wakapishwa wakaenda, kwa sababu ndege haiwezi pita your airspace bila kupata idhini ya yale mataifa yote,” Mudavadi said.
Stuck in South Africa
The clarification comes after the plane landed at OR Tambo International Airport in South Africa, where the 150 Gaza nationals were held for over 10 hours.
Authorities said the passengers lacked necessary documentation, such as proper departure stamps in their passports, required for entry into South Africa.
Following intervention by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and charitable organisations, who acted out of empathy due to the passengers’ humanitarian situation, the group was eventually allowed entry.
Investigations are ongoing into how the passengers bypassed other countries, with their last stop before South Africa being Nairobi.
Explanation by Ramaphosa
President Ramaphosa explained that the Gaza nationals had been flown from Israel’s Ramon Airport under unclear circumstances, with Nairobi serving as a transit point.
The Palestinian Embassy in South Africa noted that the group’s travel had been facilitated by “an unregistered and misleading organisation” that “exploited the tragic humanitarian conditions of our people in Gaza, deceived families, collected money from them, and facilitated their travel in an irregular and irresponsible manner.”