Fastjet cancels another flight
What you need to know:
- Victorie Umuhoza Ingabire has since 2012 been jailed in Rwanda for allegedly propagating the ideology of genocide but lodged an appeal with the African Court that her human rights were violated.
Dar es Salaam. Fastjet airline might be in more troubles after it yet again cancelled another trip, just some few days after the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCCA) warned the airline.
The airline sent an SMS to its passengers, who were scheduled to travel to Harare, Zimbabwe via Lusaka, Zambia on December 17, informing them flight 205 from Dar to Harare has been cancelled. According to one of the passengers, who booked her flight to Harare on October 25 she received the message from the airline informing her of the cancellation on Thursday, just a day after her husband went to Fastjet to confirm the flight.
The source, whose air ticket was seen by The Citizen and who preferred her name not to appear in the paper, said they had been given no reason as to why the flight was cancelled.
The message, which was seen by The Citizen read, “Dear passenger, it is with regret that we advise your flight 205 on Dec 17 from Dar to HRE has been cancelled. Please contact your nearest Fastjet office or call +255784108900. Fastjet sincerely apologize for any problem this may cause to you.”
This paper tried to call the number on the message but it didn’t go through.
Efforts to reach Fastjet proved futile as their phones went unanswered.
Fastjet’s frequent flight cancellations raised concern to TCAA.
TCAA director general Hamza Johari told The Citizen that they were concerned about the situation and would be acting to protect the interest of passengers.
However, the TCAA boss was not ready to give further information about the kind of actions he had in mind.
On Wednesday, Fastjet cancelled its Dar es Salaam-Mwanza evening flight, affecting more than 100 passengers who were forced to spend the night in the town. Although the respondent state (Rwanda) received all the notifications on the case and subsequent court decisions since the November 24th, 2017 judgement, it did not respond to any of them.
On November 23rd, 2018, Ms Ingabire (the applicant) informed the court that she had been set free and has left prison. That followed an amnesty by President Paul Kagame of Rwanda.
The opposition politician was earlier (October 30 th, 2012) sentenced by the High Court of Rwanda sentenced to eight years imprisonment for the same charges which included her alleged denial of genocide against the Tutsis in 1994.
Ms Ingabire, the Chair of UDF-Inkingi political party who returned to her country in 2010 from exile to vie for presidency, during that year’s presidential elections in her country.
She filed an appeal appeal before the African Court, contending that her fundamental rights as enshrined in the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights have been violated and sought a remedy from the Court.
Rwanda government was not represented at the hearing of the case because Kigali has challenged the independence and impartiality of the African Court.
Rwanda, which last year withdrew its signature on the legal instrument which allowed individuals and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to file a case before it.
In her defence, Ms Ingabire claimed she has not denied the genocide against the Tutsis but once remarked that the Hutus also perished and deserved a memorial site.
