It has now emerged that it took the intervention of President Uhuru Kenyatta to avert the planned strike by pilots due to alleged mismanagement at national carrier Kenya Airways.
According to Nation, a meeting was held on Monday between President Uhuru Kenyatta and the Kenya Airline Pilots Association where concerns raised by the pilots were addressed.
Sources close the meeting revealed that the Head of State promised that major changes will be done at KQ at the end of the month to revive the crippled airline.
"In light of the fruitful discussions held between Kalpa's executive council and the government, we have taken the decision to defer the strike action to accommodate the ongoing negotiations ," said Kalpa's secretary -general Paul Gichinga.
The pilots had demanded the exit of KQ's chief executive, Mbuvi Ngunze and chairman Dennis Awori accusing them of massive mismanagement that has plunged the airline into losses.
On Monday evening, a press conference was held at KCC where former Safaricom boss Michael Joseph was announced as the new chairman of KQ replacing Awori with immediate effect.