Kenya Airways declared the cessation of flights to Kinshasa effective Tuesday following the apprehension of two staff members by a military intelligence unit in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“Because of the ongoing detention of KQ personnel by the Military Intelligence Unit in Kinshasa, Kenya Airways (KQ) is incapable of maintaining our flights without essential personnel,” the airline stated on Monday.

The individuals, employed at the airline’s airport branch in the DRC capital, were detained on April 19 by the Military Detection of Anti-Homeland Activities (DEMIAP) purportedly due to “lacking customs documentation on valuable cargo,” the airline reported last week.

However, the CEO, Allan Kilavuka, clarified last week that the cargo in question, whose contents remain unspecified, was “not accepted or transported by KQ due to incomplete documentation.”

This cargo, of undisclosed contents, “remained in the baggage section for customs clearance when the security team arrived and accused KQ of transporting goods without proper clearance.”

“Despite our efforts to clarify to the military officials that KQ had not taken possession of the cargo due to incomplete documentation, our attempts were unsuccessful.”

Kenya Airways disclosed that a military court in the DRC had assured their release last week, but they remained in detention.

The airline reported that its staff members were detained “incommunicado” at a military facility until April 23, when embassy representatives and a KQ delegation were permitted to visit them.

The DRC government has yet to respond to the accusations, and attempts to contact DEMIAP have been fruitless.

In its Monday statement, Kenya Airways expressed that the “illegal detention” had “hampered our ability to oversee our operations in Kinshasa, including customer service, ground handling, cargo activities, and overall ensuring safe, secure, and efficient operations.”

“We urge compliance with the Military court’s directive for their release to uphold due process so that our innocent employees can reunite with their families and resume their normal lives without hindrance.”

The incident incited outrage in Kenya, with the chairman of a prominent parliamentary committee denouncing it as a violation of diplomatic norms.

“This represents a grave infringement upon the rights of the two Kenyans and a concerning breach of the diplomatic principles upon which… Kenya-DRC relations are established,” Nelson Koech, head of a parliamentary committee overseeing defense, intelligence, and foreign relations, declared on Friday.

KQ was established in 1977 following the dissolution of East African Airways and presently serves 45 destinations, with 37 situated in Africa.