A German army shipment of 6 million face masks vanished while on transit at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), defence ministry in Berlin confirmed Tuesday.
News weekly Der Spiegel reported that the consignment disappeared towards the end of last week.
According to a German spokesperson, it was not clear why the masks that meet the FFP2 standard for protection against particles and aerosols, were transiting via Kenya.
The government, she said, is :trying to find out what happened.”
The shipment was due to arrive in Germany on March 20. The army is helping the health practitioners fight the deadly Covid-19 pandemic.
As of Tuesday, Germany reported 5,000 positive cases of coronavirus, bringing the total to a staggering 27,436.
According to Spiegel, the loss is “more than irritating” as the army struggles with equipment shortages and breakdowns.
But according to the spokesperson, the country will not suffer financial loss as payment was due on delivery.
Earlier, Kenya received 20,000 masks, testing kits and protective suits meant to help her in the fight against coronavirus.
The donation was from Chinese billionaire and philanthropist Jack Ma.
The Alibaba co-founder on March 16, 2020, said he would donate a total of 1.1 million testing kits, 6 million masks and 60,000 medical use protective suits and face shields that will be distributed among the 54 African nations.
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