Kenya Airways : The Turnaround That Wasn't

I worked at Kenya Airways as an aviation engineer from 2010 to 2014. Two of my

relatives held senior engineering roles there. I still have friends on those

ramps tonight. This episode is not a hit on the workforce — it targets the

strategy, ownership, and financing decisions above them.

Two weeks ago, KQ's CEO resigned — the latest in a long line — days after

telling investors the turnaround was on track. So I read past the headline,

into the results themselves. Here's what the receipts actually say.

00:00 Cold Open — I need to declare an interest

01:43 Act 1 — The dream I helped build (Project Mawingu, 2012)

04:16 Act 2 — How it cracked from the inside (Embraer swap, 767→777, the KLM clause)

09:41 Act 3 — The hangover, and who really paid

11:57 Act 4 — The turnaround that wasn't (the forex reveal)

14:19 Act 5 — Back in the red, and the people holding it up

16:24 Act 6 — Right pilot, wrong plane

20:18 The Close — Receipts over vibes

SOURCES

Daily Nation · Business Daily · The Standard · Kenyan Wall Street ·

Eastleigh Voice (Kilavuka testimony, Public Debt & Privatisation Committee,

Oct 2025) · CEO East Africa · Kenya Airways FY2024/2026 results · Simple

Flying · ch-aviation · Aviation Week

Full figure-by-figure sourcing available on request — every number in this

episode is checkable against the airline's own results and parliamentary

testimony, not press releases.

Receipts over vibes. Always.

#KenyaAirways #KQ #ReceiptsOverVibes #KWTW