By Nation Reporter
Posted Sunday, March 25 2012 at 10:23
Posted Sunday, March 25 2012 at 10:23
Kenya's Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetangula has been evacuated from troubled Malian capital Bamako and is currently in Lagos, Nigeria
The Minister expected back on Sunday evening.
A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Minister was evacuated on Saturday night.
"The Minister for Foreign Affairs was last (Saturday) night safely evacuated from Bamako Mali. The Government successfully managed to charter a flight to evacuate the Minister after securing clearance from the Mali military authority incharge," the statement said.
"The Government officials accompanying the Minister and two other Kenyans were also evacuated on the nine seater chartered flight. The Government also chartered another flight from Dakar Senegal to evacuate the remaining Kenyans and we are still waiting for details from Dakar.
"The Minister is expected in Nairobi later this (Sunday) evening on a Kenya Airways flight from Lagos. The Government assures Kenyans that all effort is being made to safely evacuate any other Kenyan stranded in Mali."
Others evacuated alongside the Minister are Anthony Safari, Gilbert K. Ng'eno, Boniface Munzala, the Zimbabwean Foreign Affairs Minister, Dickson Omosa and Michael Odera.
Minister Wetangula gave an update of his location on his Facebook account on Sunday morning, saying "Thank God! We have been evacuated from Bamako by a GOK chartered plane. We have arrived in Lagos Nigeria and enthusiastically received by Kenyans led by the Kq manager in the region my good old friend mr Maundu. We thak u all. We take a Kq flight in the morning for Nairobi arriving 6.00pm"
A subsequent Facebook posting stated: " It is amazing how the soldiers who were shooting all around us, upon receiving no-nonsense messages from UN SG Ban Ki-Moon & AU comm Ch Dr Jean Ping. to not only ensure our safety but also give us safe passage suddenly turned up in large numbers(close to100) to escort us to the a/port. Infact my car with the colleague from Zimbabwe was driven by the Commissioner of police. This did not take away our fear as both him and his mate adorned two Klashinkovs each. Never mind we are now safely away."
Mr Wetangula's evacuation follows a setback on Saturday after a chartered flight declined to fly them out.
The Kenyan Government had managed to charter a flight from an Airline company in Nigeria on Saturday to fly in and evacuate the group after securing clearance for evacuation from the Mali military. (READ: Mission to evacuate Wetang'ula fails)
The airline, however, declined to fly out, saying they had been informed by the control tower in Mali that the airspace was not safe.
The development came hours after the minister gave up a seat on a United Nations plane on Friday night, instead offering it to Boniface Kaberia who was also stranded in the west African country.
Mr Kaberia arrived at the JKIA on Sunday at 6.00am.
MORE TO FOLLOW.
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