Ian Glover, 46, Steve Gibson, 60, Eddie Swift and Paul Abbott, both 47 sentenced to twelve months in jail or pay a fine of Sh200, 000 each for sneaking into Wilson Airport and taking photos.
BY SAM ALFAN.
FOUR British nationals have been sentenced to twelve months in jail or pay a fine of Sh200, 000 each for sneaking into Wilson Airport and taking photos.
The four are accused of entering a restricted area without permission and refusing to follow lawful instruction given to them by an officer.
Senior Resident magistrate S. Jalango heard that Ian Glover, 46, Steve Gibson, 60, Eddie Swift and Paul Abbott, both 47, were said to have entered Wilson airport without permission and authority of Kenya airport authority manager and took photos.
They allegedly committed the offence on March 11 at an Air side area of East African air charters Hanger at the Wilson.
They were also charged with another count that on the same date they refused to follow a lawful instruction given to them by Mr Douglas Singei not to enter the restricted area of the airport located in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.
The court heard the suspects arrived in the country on March 10 while on a three days transit visa. The next day they went to Wilson to meet with the manager Charles Owino who was to give them permission to enter the airside.
They were denied access because their passports had not been vetted by necessary authority. They were advised to go back at KAA to get permission from the manager. They neglected and entered the said area wearing reflective jackets and started taking photos of air-crafts.
The prosecution said they were arrested in possession of five memory cards, two I phone phones, a nokia phone, a mini laptop and an apple iPad. The gadgets were taken for cybercrime analysis and it was verified that the gadgets can be used by anybody.
Through their lawyer Nicodemus Ouma, the four told court that they were remorseful and had written and communicated with the manager of cooperate affairs at Kenya airports authority before visiting the country.
“We had communicated with officer in December last year and we had given all the documents required”, they told court.
Jalango convicted the four by considering their mitigation.
