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Uganda Airlines to add 'Senene'on their in-flight menu

Senene. PHOTO | COURTESY

Kampala. Uganda Airlines on Saturday said that they are planning to add grasshoppers (Senene in Kiswahili), on their in-flight menu for regional and international flights.
The carrier’s management said in statement that, the addition of Senene on their menu will take the Ugandan delicacy to the world.

“Our key products are people and the experience,” the Uganda Airlines' management said in a statement.
This comes after social media outrage after a man was filmed hawking Senene aboard one of the airlines' plane at Entebbe International Airport.

In the 40-second video which was recorded by one of the passengers on Friday (November 26), passengers on Dubai-bound flight no. 446 are seen purchasing the local delicacy without interruption from the cabin crew.
“This happened at a time our passengers were boarding, and it was disruptive. We don't condone the acts of the passenger selling Senene and low standards of serving it to people who were buying it. We will not take this conduct lightly because it undermines the spirit of the national carrier," the airlines adds in the statement.

Moments after reports emerged Uganda’s Works and Transport minister, Gen Edward Katumba Wamala ordered the suspension of staff members who were manning the airport at the time of the incident.


However, Ms Shakira Rahim, the Uganda Airlines Public Relations manager told Daily Monitor that they are yet to receive any formal communication from the minister regarding the reports.

“As Uganda Airlines, we haven’t received any formal letter from the minister the way it's said on social media. We disregard the information of suspending Uganda Airlines staff and those are speculations,” she said.
When questioned about how the hawker ended up on the plane, she said they are still investigating.

“We are also doing investigations on how the Senene or Nsenene  ended up in the cabin because as one is travelling, there are things which aren’t allowed on the plane, so that’s part of the security but we are also investigating,” she added.
When contacted, Gen Katumba said: “I have suspended them from where now? I don't suspend people through media. If I was to suspend people I write to them. So it's not true."
However, Gen Katumba later tweeted saying he had asked the leadership of the airlines to take action against the staff who were in charge when the incident happened.
“About the video making rounds on social media of someone vending Nsenene aboard @UG_Airlines, I have spoken to the leadership of the airline to take action against the staff who were in charge when this happened,” he tweeted.