Court has directed Kenya Airways to pay for a client's perfumes the airline company lost en-route to Entebbe from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. This is after John Ndahura, a city perfums dealer sued the Airline, accusing it of causing him loss of Ushs56m worth of perfumes.

But, thanks to the Warsaw Convention which limits compensation of loss of goods on freight to a paltry US$20 per kilogram, Kenya Airways will pay only Shs18m for Ndahura's perfumes.

In costs, Kenya Airways will pay Ushs1.7m to their aggrieved client.
This is contained in a consent agreement, the airliner penned with its aggrieved client, before commercial court's mediator, John M. Napier.

Information before court indicates that Ndahura entrusted his wares to Kenya Airways to fly them to Entebbe Airport.

The wares did not check out at Entebbe Conveyer Belt. A subsequent investigation revealed that the goods were lost at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, when the Kenya Airways plane made a stop over there. Ndahura used another airline to fly into the country, whereupon he waited for his wares in vain.

After promises to settle the matter ended in futility, Ndahura instructed Omunyokol and Company Advocates to take up the matter with court.

Kenya Airway's lawyers, Katende, Ssempebwa and Company Advocates denied negligence on one hand, but alluding to the Warsaw Convention, agreed to pay US$20 per kilogram of the Ndahura's lost wares.

Ndahura understandably rejected the compensation based on the foregoing Convention, choosing to go all the way to receive ends of justice, till he caved in, to mitigate his loss by taking what the airliner offered.

Mobile Telephone dealer, Ssenyonjo Kamunye, of the Giant Eagles fame, is another of businessmen who had his wares lost enroute to Entebbe in the past aboard the same airliner.

The matter was also settled on terms of the Warsaw Convention. Kamunye's lawyer, Tendo Kavuma then vowed to fight the said legislation in higher courts, but it is not clear whether he carried out this vow.

Problem with the legislation is that it is not prominently written on a passenger's air ticket, making it almost next to impossible to attract the passenger's attention. At which the above cases, many aggrieved passengers have come to learn about the legislation, after airline defense lawyers have brandished it in courts of law on the victim seeking compensation in court.

By David Lukoma