The Death of KQ

Like Uchumi and Mumias before it, KQ seems to have been looted to the ground.

My suspicions are that all those excuses given by management, led by Nguvi Ngunze, were a poor attempt at a cover-up. As a businessman, there were gaping holes in their explanations and from what I have heard on the gravevine - that I simply couldn’t renconcile with good practice.

For a start, I would like Ngunze and co. to answer the following questions:

  1. Why did they hedge against oil prices when these were being predicted to fall throughout the year - kickbacks?

  2. The jets they bought were supposed to be more fuel-efficient so why did operating costs rise - overpriced supplies such as food/spares?

  3. Who owned the SPVs that were used to buy the dreamliners and other aircraft? Ngunze/Mbugua’s friends registered in the Bahamas? What was the cost of putting up these SPVs (borne by KQ of course!)?

  4. When did management note that KQ was on a downward spiral and why was action (offloading aircraft, cutting routes, reducing non-core expenses etc etc) not taken to mitigate?

  5. JUST HOW MUCH DO EACH OF THE TOP DIRECTORS AND MANAGERS PERSONALLY OWN? DO THEY HAVE FOREIGN ACCOUNTS?

  6. JKIA is the hub of KQ and the airport’s main client. Just how was the Mbugua/Ngunze mafia involved in such shady dealings as the bus fiasco exposed by Uhuru where airlines were paying exaggerated fees for passenger transfers?

  7. Who took the unwise decision to expand the fleet (kickbacks?) when Kenya was going through a tourism depression (remember this began three years ago)?

  8. Who was responsble for a staff complement of over 4,000 for a relatively small airline like KQ with less than 50 aircraft?

  9. Why did KQ terminate the work of tour and travel operators, who have DEDICATED clients, in favour of staff and online registration? Who benefitted from this new arrangement?

  10. Which managers and directors reportedly each year make the airline lose at least Sh500 million through freebies, joyrides and other unnecessary expenses for their cronies, families, mpangos etc etc each year?

  11. Who are the main suppliers of KQ and wh are their directors? Why were consultants (legal, audit, airline etc etc) paid hundreds of millons while key staff had to strike for their dues, leading KQ to lose business? Kickbacks?

I could go on and on and on and on.

OBAMA SAID IT BUT I DOUBT ANYBODY WAS LISTENING; IF YOU DON’T PROSECUTE LOOTERS AND JAIL THEM, YOU ARE PLANNING FOR FAILURE. Kidero. Ngunze. Naikuni. Kirubi. Ciano.

Goodbye KQ.

And what a shame Ngunze. And to imagine you are a Busherian (that’s a topic for another day…the way these tuacademic book types run down businesses…)

I saw his interview with Mijungu,that Ngunze guy, he was just repeating the same phrase over and over again like a revised script. However Mijungu was not asking the hard questions as well

The Government will bail out KQ just like they did with Mumias Sugar and the people who looted will be in the crowd clapping the loudest…Not for the government but for themselves. An nobody…will be held to account.

… ama ni njaro ya kuangusha shares ndio ile siku direct flight za US zitaanza, watu wa make ma profit wazimu?
(my two cents)

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  1. why did they have to announce the result from a 5 star hotel like Intercon? Wangeenda kwa kahoteli kadogo kaa kenchic :smiley:
    #stolen

Someone in Kenya is very busy day and night scheming how to loot/steal from his/her own country. Such a person probably has billions in offshore accounts. He/She doesn’t even have time to “enjoy” the loot. In the end as nature has it he/she will die. Hapo amejisaidia aje?

A bailout is a loan, right? Which they’ll still have to pay. For how long will they subsist on loans?

@FieldMarshal CouchP, the topic you raised is important and it contains very valid questions but the moment unaongeza hekaya it raises reliability issues with the entire article.

For every economic analysis that was done last year on oil prices tanking, there was another stating the opposite. Don’t blame them hedges zikiwapata offside then celebrate when they work well like in 2010

  1. Who owned the SPVs that were used to buy the dreamliners and other aircraft? Ngunze/Mbugua’s friends registered in the Bahamas? What was the cost of putting up these SPVs (borne by KQ of course!)?

don’t buy that hekaya from alai, hizo LLCs are owned by KQ and the leasing company

  1. JKIA is the hub of KQ and the airport’s main client. Just how was the Mbugua/Ngunze mafia involved in such shady dealings as the bus fiasco exposed by Uhuru where airlines were paying exaggerated fees for passenger transfers?

KQ and KAA are two independent companies, don’t blame corruption at KAA on KQ. Infact KQ also has some Chinese made buses to do the transfers that were acquired at very reasonable rates.

  1. Who took the unwise decision to expand the fleet (kickbacks?) when Kenya was going through a tourism depression (remember this began three years ago)?

Sijui nikujibu aje hapa, ndege si kama gari ati unaenda kwa show room unanunua, those jets were ordered in 2006 and cancellations on the orders would attract penalties from Boeing/leasing company. Back then it made sense as the 767 were reaching retirement age.

Management needs to take the flack for alot lakini wahenga walinena mgala muue lakini haki mpe

Shocks, for the record I only read The Guardian, The Atlantic, DN, and such papers online; who is Alai by the way?

As for your answers, I don’t really know. For the fuel, how come many international airlines didn’t hedge while KQ was hedging? Did they have a better understanding of the oil market than KQ, or were the KQ honchos just bribed to hedge? Those are the issues that a competent commission should establish. An airline just doesn’t lose 298 million dollars just like that…but please continue to answer the rest of the questions.

Do you ever find that at times foreign press always simplifes every problem in Africa to corruption, point to ponder

As for your answers, I don’t really know. For the fuel, how come many international airlines didn’t hedge while KQ was hedging? Did they have a better understanding of the oil market than KQ, or were the KQ honchos just bribed to hedge? Those are the issues that a competent commission should establish. An airline just doesn’t lose 298 million dollars just like that…but please continue to answer the rest of the questions.

I won’t also say I know everything, its just points I’ve raised for thought and I agree, management needs to do alot of explaining and changes in the way KQ does business before they get another cent from treasury

DJ CK’s immediate reaction tells it all. Get KQ out of NSE and leave it to the “key” investors.

mbona alikuwa kwa advert yao?

crazydude si angekuwa hapa

Remember crazydude claiming that ZTE and Lenovo would challenge Samsung Mobile and Apple for the number 1 spot in less than 3 years ?

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He knew the advert wouldnt yield any magic. And most likely he was paid.

Mimi i know shit about business,but one thing stood out,the number or the revenue from ticket sales remained the same there was only a marginal decline from cargo income so hasara imetoka kwa operational expenses which tells a lot about the management

I dont think hedging is an issue and whoever is talking about it including KQ management just wants to distract people from the real issues which is poor pricing and increased costs other than fuel. To my understanding if i agree with my supplier to hedge a certain input in my business i am guaranteeing myself to buy that input at a specific price over a certain period into the future which is really not a bad thing to do. Therefore i will budget and target my income to be over and above that cost so that i can meet it always. If its price falls that should not affect me in any way. Its only i wont earn the extra income from the price reduction but otherwise that should not affect my income. It is the income i should concentrate on as the main cost is known. Its like rent. I budget for the year because i know my rent. So when budgeting i make sure the income is sufficient to meet that known cost throughout the year. After that my responsibility is to go to work and ensure i make that income. If the landlord reduces my rent by surprise it will in no way make my situation worse. I can comfortably pay him at the normal rate

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Hii price ya shares haijaanguka kutoka jana. Mtu astue investors bailout haikuji bei ianguke ninunue