An MP has been accused of attacking a senior official of the Chinese government at JKIA.
Sirisia MP John Waluke allegedly assaulted the representative of the China Africa Development Fund, Mr Lui Jie.
“I can confirm that the assault was reported at the station,” said airport police chief Joseph Ole Tito.
Mr Lui was at the airport to receive a delegation from the Chinese National Tourism Administration, flying in to promote tourism by the Chinese to Kenya.
The alleged attack took place at the baggage hall where Mr Lui was awaiting the delegation’s arrival from Antananarivo, Madagascar aboard a Kenya Airways flight.
Mr Waluke is said to have arrived at the airport at around 4.30pm in the company of Budalangi MP Ababu Namwamba and North Mugirango MP Charles Mon’gare.
The MPs are said to have confronted Mr Lui, demanding to know why and how he had accessed a restricted area.
The MPs started taking photographs of the official before Mr Waluke, a retired major, allegedly slapped Mr Lui on the left eye and threw away a bouquet of flowers to be handed to the head of the delegation, Mr Wang Zhifa.
The matter was reported to the airport police station and Mr Lui was referred to Port Health Clinic for treatment.
Mr Namwamba later admitted that they confronted the official but denied that he was assaulted. He said that they had just arrived from Zambia when they spotted three men in the restricted area of the airport.
“When we alighted we spotted the Chinese officials at a restricted area without any security officer. It drew our attention given the high cases of insecurity in the country,” he said.
Police chief Tito agreed with Mr Namwamba that nobody was allowed in the restricted area, even if they had temporary passes.
Kenya Airports Authority maintained the officials were accompanied by a security warden, Mr Felix Wangi.
The authority also said an official from China had applied for the passes to access restricted areas, and were granted.
They were then assigned two security wardens.
The delegation was in the country to follow up on the recent visit by Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang.
-nairobinews
