Tours and travel firms fight eviction from JKIA garage

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. FILE PHOTO | NMG 

By MAUREEN KAKAH

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Summary

• Planet Safari & Adventure Limited, the Strand Hotels, Travel Life Africa tours and Lucida Tours have sued the Kenya Airports Authority through lawyer Henry Kurauka. 
• The tour firms have accused KAA of notifying them to surrender their leased premises by today (Friday) to allow the authority to tender provision of services they were rendering at JKIA’s parking garage. 
• They claim that they have been occupying the disputed premises for over 10 years while sustaining their livelihood.  
• They have termed the notice to vacate as short, irrational, unreasonable, malicious and unlawful. 

Four tours and travel companies have moved to court to challenge a notice to vacate Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Parking Garage. 

Planet Safari & Adventure Limited, the Strand Hotels, Travel Life Africa tours and Lucida Tours have sued the Kenya Airports Authority through lawyer Henry Kurauka. 

The tour firms have accused KAA of notifying them to surrender their leased premises by today (Friday) to allow the authority to tender provision of services they were rendering at JKIA’s parking garage. 

“KAA intends to forcibly evict the tour firms from the said premises upon expiry of the said notice unless an order of stay is granted herein,” says Mr Kurauka in the court filing.

They say that they were issued with the notification to vacate on April 25 to pave the way for tendering of services which they are currently offering. 

They claim that they have been occupying the disputed premises for over 10 years while sustaining their livelihood.  

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They have termed the notice to vacate as short, irrational, unreasonable, malicious and unlawful. 

They alleged that they were never consulted before that directive was issued yet the notice given was too short as well as against the rules of natural justice. 

They also alleged that the notice breaches the law as well as the procedure for terminating tenancy. 

In the case documents they claimed that some of their employees were denied passes to enter JKIA following the notification to vacate the premise. 

According to the companies, the only period which they vacated the disputed premise was in 2013 when a huge fire broke out at JKIA’s arrival terminal which forced KAA to temporarily relocate to that area.

 At the time, although no one was injured, President Uhuru Kenyatta visited the airport to inspect the extent of the damaged caused by that fire incident.

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