129 Kenyan Students Stranded in Sudan Flown Back Home
Over 100 Kenyan university students who were stranded in Sudan amid the Covid-19 pandemic have been evacuated.
A Kenya Airways flight carrying the 129 students landed at the Mombasa International Airport on Saturday from Sudan’s capital, Khartoum.
Most of the evacuated students hail from Coastal Kenya counties including Mombasa, Kilifi, Kwale, and Lamu. Upon arrival, they were immediately sent into a mandatory 14-day quarantine at the Kenya School of Government in Kizingo area, Mombasa.
“We really appreciate those who have made our return a reality. Being away from our loved ones has been quite heartbreaking,” Salim Bakari, a second-year Financial Economics student at the International University of Africa told Daily Nation.
Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir who contributed Sh1 million towards their evacuation said most of the students were on scholarships and could not afford flight tickets back home.
“Eighty-three students from Mombasa have safely arrived. It has been great working together to make this a success,” he remarked.
The MP joined hands with the Mombasa community to rescue the students after they sent distress calls through videos.
The government announced the suspension of international flights in March as part of the measures aimed at combating the spread of Covid-19.
At least 1,000 Kenyans stranded in various countries abroad including China, India, and the United Kingdom have since been evacuated on chartered flights at their own costs.
Comments (1)
Sasa when will they evacuate Kenyans from the USA? Si kuna ndege going to New York JFK tangu last year. Thing came with so much fanfare but now they are silent.
I am sure there are much more Kenyans in the US who need to travel due to deaths, students with closed colleges, unemployed who would rather cool their heels at home vs paying high cost maisha and of course, those who came to visit and are stranded due to the sudden shutdown. Nigeria has opened Intl flights with COVID test required, Ethiopia pia, TZ..why is Kenya so behind in these things? They only seem to make speeches when world bank offers them money. Time to take care of your citizens instead of ignoring them. After all, the diaspora bring in even more money than these tourists they are chasing after. Watu wajiinga sana are in that serikali. By now these embassies could have gathered info on those who need to travel..not dissapear into their diplomatic spaces.