Nairobi, Kenya — The Republic of Congo’s military has released two Kenya Airways employees who were detained for two weeks in a cargo dispute, Kenya’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
The detention of the employees prompted Kenya Airways to suspend flights to Congo, but the state airline said flights would resume on Wednesday.
The airline said it had rejected the cargo because it did not have the required documentation. The nature of the cargo, described as “valuable”, has not been disclosed.
Congo’s army arrested staff at the airline’s offices at the capital Kinshasa’s main airport.
A military court accepted the airline’s request for their release, but the military continued to hold them.
Kenya and the Congo have cordial relations, and Kenya participates in UN-backed peacekeeping missions in the Congo.
Kenya’s embassy in Congo negotiated the release of staff, Foreign Ministry Principal Secretary Korir Singoei said.
Colleagues and embassy officials were only given a few minutes with the two.
Singoei met with the family of one of the detained employees and assured them that their relatives would be safe and “treated fairly” by Congolese authorities.