FALSE: Airspace Restrictions Not Placed On Raila Odinga Residence

On 13th August, as tallying and verification of presidential ballots continued at Bomas of Kenya, a Facebook group, Uhuru For Us, posted a message purporting that the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) has restricted the airspace over Raila Odinga’s home in Karen, Nairobi.

The post claims the temporary flight restrictions (TFR) went into effect from the afternoon of Saturday, 13th August 2022 and are expected to last until at least Monday, 5th October 2022.

“The restrictions may be however extended by a new notice to airmen (NOTAM) in case of a successful presidential petition at the Supreme Court,” the post says, quoting an undisclosed notice.

The post says that in the notice, Azimio La Umoja’s presidential candidate has not been specifically mentioned in the airspace restrictions, adding that airspace restrictions bar pilots from operating aircraft within the one-mile radius of the no-fly zone. 

It adds that the KCAA put the TFR in place for “Special Security Reasons”.

A fact-check, however, established that the information, which has been shared by several Facebook accounts, is fake. We contacted the KCAA, which disowned the report and the purported notice.

“The area noted by the NOTAM (Notice To Air Missions) cited within the post is the Bomas of Kenya,” KCAA said in response to our inquiries. “Kindly note that no residences are included in the NOTAM. Additionally, the NOTAM is valid until 18th August, not 5th October as indicated within the post.”

KCAA social media accounts do not have such a notice. A Google search for news on the airspace notice on Raila’s residence yielded no positive results.

Reports of airspace restriction on Raila Odinga’s residence have been dismissed by the KCAA, Kenya’s airspace regulatory, and are therefore FALSE.

This fact-check was produced by BUSINESS TODAY with support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck, African Fact Checking Alliance network and the United Nations Development Programme.

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