KQ Faces Scrutiny as Internal Audit Raises Questions Over Buddy Pass Sackings

Kenya Airways is facing renewed questions over the fairness of its disciplinary process after an internal audit reportedly identified widespread systemic failures in the airline’s controversial Buddy Pass programme more than a year after dozens of employees had already been dismissed for alleged abuse of the staff travel benefit.

The revelations have intensified a labour dispute that has continued to generate legal battles, with critics arguing that the airline focused on punishing junior employees while failing to hold management accountable for weaknesses in the programme’s design and oversight.

The Buddy Pass programme, introduced in 2023, allows Kenya Airways employees to nominate family members and friends to travel at highly discounted or complimentary rates under strict conditions.

The initiative was suspended in April 2024 after the airline said it had uncovered widespread abuse involving staff allegedly selling or improperly allocating the travel privileges.

Investigations eventually implicated 75 employees, leading to disciplinary action and dismissals before the programme was reinstated later that year.

However, an internal audit contained in Staff Notice No038/2025, dated Nov 5, 2025, has shifted attention away from individual employees and towards what it describes as institutional shortcomings that may have contributed to the irregularities.

According to the audit, the programme suffered from weak internal controls, inadequate registration procedures, poorly regulated payment channels and limited staff awareness of the governing policies.

The report also reportedly found instances where Buddy Pass allocations were manipulated without the knowledge of employees, while payments were processed through unclear systems, suggesting operational weaknesses rather than purely deliberate misconduct by individual staff members.

The timing of the audit has become a central point of contention.

Employees were dismissed throughout 2024 following internal investigations, yet the comprehensive audit identifying broader systemic failures was only completed in November 2025.

Labour representatives and some affected employees argue the sequence creates the impression that disciplinary decisions were made before the airline had established the full extent of the organisational failures surrounding the programme.

They contend that the later audit effectively documented management shortcomings that should have formed part of the original investigations before dismissals were carried out.

Questions have also emerged over the consistency of the disciplinary process.

In an internal memo issued by Chief People Officer Tom Shivo on June 19, 2024, management indicated that 75 employees had been implicated in violations of the Buddy Pass rules. Later communications stated investigations into the group had largely been concluded before the programme was reinstated.

According to individuals familiar with the matter, only about 25 employees were ultimately dismissed, while dozens of others who had also been investigated remained in employment.

That disparity has fuelled allegations of selective enforcement, with critics questioning the criteria used to determine which employees lost their jobs and which did not.

This publication did not get any response from the airline’s communication department despite making inquiries through multiple channels.

The controversy has also revived scrutiny of the investigation itself.

The Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU) previously accused a senior security official who led parts of the investigations of misconduct, including allegations relating to integrity, unfair labour practices and workplace harassment.

The union demanded his resignation in correspondence sent in August 2024 during a wider industrial dispute involving both Kenya Airways and the Kenya Airports Authority. Those allegations have not been publicly adjudicated, and no findings confirming the claims have been made public. The resignation demand was later dropped without a publicly disclosed explanation.

Meanwhile, people familiar with the ongoing litigation say the airline is now defending numerous employment disputes filed by former workers challenging their dismissals.

The cases are reportedly being handled by both the airline’s in-house legal department and several external law firms, potentially increasing legal costs at a time when Kenya Airways continues to pursue financial recovery after years of restructuring and losses.

 

The questions now confronting the national carrier include whether disciplinary action was applied uniformly, whether systemic failures received adequate management attention and whether employees were afforded a process that fully considered the organisational weaknesses later documented in the internal audit.

Kenya Airways has previously maintained that investigations into the Buddy Pass programme were necessary to protect the integrity of an employee benefit that had been abused and that staff are expected to comply with company policies governing the scheme.

gandae@businessdayafrica.org