Kenya set to auction Somali Air Force jets

Kenya Airports Authority headquarters at the JKIA in Nairobi. [File Photo]

NAIROBI, Kenya - Authorities in Nairobi are set to auction two aircraft belonging to the Somali Air Force, it has been established, just as the Horn of Africa nation continues with the rebuilding process of the army, which has been struggling for decades.

Since 1991, Somalia has not had combative armed forces following years of civil war. In fact, the country is yet to build a strong Air Force and largely depends on AMISOM and US Africa Command for aerial surveillance.

Kenya Civil Aviation Authority [KCAA] said it is set to auction the junk aircraft just got $1400 to dispose of them for its backyard. The authority has set November 17th as the date for the auction in Nairobi.

According to KCAA, the aircraft with registration numbers 3C-ZZA and 8204 both of type AN24 have been lying at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport [JKIA]. The tail number [code] 3C is a registration code for Equatorial Guinea and has been lying in the facility for many years.

Investigations indicate that the model AN24 is a Russian-made aircraft manufactured in the 1980s, an indication that the aircraft could have been abandoned during the Somali civil war that led to the ouster of Siad Barre.

Further, the authorities said, each of the two aircraft will be sold for KShs. 73,000 which translates to about $730. the Interested purchasers will be required to pay a deposit of Kshs.100,000.00 [$1000] per item on auction, the notice read in part.

In addition, other aircrafts linked to Somalia are Jubba Airways EY-534 and 5Y-BXZ each going for $4,006. It's not clear why the aircraft has been within Kenya for years but the Horn of Africa nation does not have a stable Air Force.

Elsewhere, a C-160 cargo plane caught fire while at the runway at Dolow town airfield in the Gedo region of Somalia on Wednesday, becoming the latest air disaster in Somalia, and perhaps the 10th within a duration of one year.

The plane caught fire shortly after landing at the dusty airstrip. Plane, registration EY-360 waa carrying cargo from Mogadishu to Dolow, Gedo region and luckily, no casualties according to reports from Jubaland in Somalia.

GAROWE ONLINE