Kenyans stranded in Liberia to be evacuated, govt says

Politics and policy

Liberian health workers at the NGO Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) Ebola treatment centre in Monrovia, Liberia. PHOTO | ZOOM DOSSO | AFP 

By NATION REPORTER

In Summary

• Through its official Twitter account on Tuesday, the Foreign Affairs ministry said that Kenyans constitute the largest bloc of civilian expatriates in Liberia, saying it has been following on their welfare keenly.

Kenyans who have been stranded in Liberia following the Ebola outbreak will be flown in next week, the Foreign Affairs ministry said on Tuesday. The ministry said evacuation arrangements had been finalised, but noted that the process had taken long because "necessary precautionary measures had to be addressed".

The Kenyans have been stranded there for the past two months since national carrier Kenya Airways stopped plying the West African route. In August, the airline suspended flights to Liberia and Sierra Leone, following the Ebola outbreak that has so far killed more than 4,500 in the region.

READ: When they hear Kenya, they think Ebola

In halting the flights, Kenya Airways chief executive Titus Naikuni said the decision was based on the situation risk assessment by Kenya’s Ministry of Health.

Through its official Twitter account on Tuesday, the Foreign Affairs ministry said that Kenyans constitute the largest bloc of civilian expatriates in Liberia, saying it has been following on their welfare keenly.

It further said that Kenya had joined other countries in helping affected western Africa countries to contain the "unprecedented" Ebola epidemic.