Kenya Airports Authority has denied that a German army consignment of six million masks meant for protection against COVID-19 virus vanished at JKIA last week.
In a statement, KAA said it has conducted an investigation into the matter and concluded that there was no cargo of this nature that has passed through JKIA for the last two weeks. In addition, KAA said no missing cargo has been reported to the authorities.
“We, therefore, wish to inform the public that we are treating this report of alleged disappearance of six million type FFP2 protective masks as fake news and that our cargo section continues with normal operations,” KAA said on Tuesday.
Earlier reports indicated that German army shipment of six million face masks needed to protect against the novel coronavirus has vanished in Kenya, according to the defence ministry in Berlin.
“We are trying to find out what happened to the massive order of protective equipment meeting the FFP2 standard for protection against particles and aerosols,” a spokeswoman said.
News weekly Der Spiegel earlier reported that the masks went missing at a Kenyan airport at the end of last week.
It was not immediately clear why the shipment was transiting via Kenya the spokeswoman said.
The German army’s procurement office is providing the health ministry with logistical support during the coronavirus crisis.