Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho has been trending on Twitter for the better part of yesterday and today morning.
It all started when the County boss took to Twitter to lament his frustrations after having missed his flight with a local airline.
Joho faulted Safarilink for what he termed as “unprofessionalism and uncouth behavior” after he missed his flight from Vipingo to Nairobi.
“In this ever increasingly competitive world, the aviation industry has no place for such unprofessional, unreliable and uncouth behavior as exhibited by Safarilink,” Joho Tweeted.
Dear Hon. Hassan Joho,
Thank you for your feedback and although you did not share your complaint we respond as follows.
Our scheduled flight from Vipingo Ridge, to Nairobi departs at 16:00 hrs and the check in counters close 30 minutes before the flight departs.— Safarilink Aviation Limited (@Flysafarilink) May 21, 2021
Read: Joho Confident He Will Fly ODM Flag in 2022, Submits Presidential Nomination Papers
In their rebuttal, Safarilink explained that the Governor was on the wrong as he had arrived late with his team failing to communicate about it on time.
He was reportedly over 30 minutes late and failed to communicate hence the airline could not keep other passengers waiting at his expense.
“We understand you arrived at Vipingo Airstrip at 16:04 hrs which is past the departure time. As a premier airline, we offer an on-time service for all our flights. We also need to respect our other customers who were on time and onboard,” Safarilink said.
The conversation has sparked mixed reactions from Kenyans are a good number are condemning the Governor for being entitled yet he was the one on the wrong for showing up late.
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For instance, netizens alluded that if it were the other way round, tables turned such that it was just an ordinary Kenyan, no response would have been given by the airline.
Ultimately, Social media users have stated that the hashtag trending under #boycottsafarilink is misplaced and aimed to sabotage people’s sources of income amid tough economic times due to Covid-19.
Consequently, others intimate that it would’ve been a different case were it the Governor who was on time and the airline running late.
Here are some reactions from Twitter:
Bwana Governor, you cannot inconvenience other clients, private businesses are not run like Govt institutions where you are king. For Safarilink every customer counts. @Flysafarilink have explained their case, you were at fault. Accept and move on. We miss flights every day.
— Nyeri County Youth (@NyeriYouth) May 22, 2021
https://twitter.com/johnnjenga/status/1395950879497408520
Joho is just playing "DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM" card with Safarilink🙄! Anybody who went to school know Airlines work with SCHEDULES and on TIME!#BoycottSafarilink
— Beata mbutei (@beatambutei) May 22, 2021
Hassan Joho is intellectually lazy and abundantly daft on matters communication. Look at his angry half baked rant vs safarilink's professional reply. Joho must learn the art of respect and reciprocate the same. Whether he pushes #BoycottSafariLink or not,the jury is out. pic.twitter.com/pS6NFIbJOY
— ELIJAH NYAUNDI OKEMWA (@NyaundiOkemwa) May 22, 2021
You want to #BoycottSafariLink because @HassanAliJoho arrived almost 5 minutes after the scheduled departure time?
These Boniface Mwangi kinds of blackmail should stop, please!
I don't see the wrong @Flysafarilink did here.
— Robert ALAI, HSC (@RobertAlai) May 22, 2021
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