This is not Entebbe! Uganda dismisses viral video of ‘unfortunate situation’ at JKIA

Uganda’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has distanced itself from a viral video of an airport with water leaking from the roof.

The undated video, which has since been established to be of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi shows water pouring through the ceiling and downlighters of the terminal roofs as travellers queued to either have their luggage checked or book tickets.

In a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, CAA said the airport in question is not Entebbe International Airport as attributed in some sections of the internet, but rather a neighbouring country which the aviation authority did not name.

“Please ignore the trending video of an unfortunate situation at an airport in a neighbouring country, which some WhatsApp users have wrongly attributed to Entebbe International Airport. Note that this is not Entebbe International Airport,” the post read.

The situation at JKIA has sparked uproar among Kenyans while politicians finger-pointed over who is to blame for the mess.

On Tuesday, Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen blamed the leaking roof on poor workmanship by the contractor and engineers doing renovations at Terminal 1C and 1 E in the previous government of President Uhuru Kenyatta.

A day later, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua echoed Murkomen’s sentiments that rushed renovations during Mr Kenyatta's tenure compromised standards.

Gachagua criticised those opposing Murkomen, stating they are averse to the truth.

The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) would later cite the lack of permanent solutions over the past decade as a major factor contributing to challenges at JKIA.

“Over the last 10 years, JKIA has suffered inadequate facility and infrastructure capacity upgrades to the extent that even temporary interventions became permanent solutions hence the current state of affairs on service disruption,” KAA said in a press statement on Wednesday.

A comprehensive infrastructural overhaul at JKIA by the government was in the works, the airport authority said.