• Sky News, in an exclusive investigative segment and article published on Monday, identified the man.
Image: FILE
The Kenya Airports Authority KAA has dismissed claims that the stowaway who fell in a London garden was a cleaner at the JKIA.
In a statement on Tuesday, KAA said in collaboration with teams from multiple agencies, had conducted investigations with regards to the allegations and established that they were "baseless".
Sky News, in an exclusive investigative segment and article published on Monday, identified the man who fell - 29-year-old Paul Manyasi - was a Kenyan who worked as a cleaner at JKIA.
He was living at Mukuru Kwa Njenga, the article said.
The TV investigation shows that the man used to work for Colnet Cleaning Services, the company that sent him and others to various clients at the airport.
Earning Sh300 daily, living in the slum yet overflowing with ambition, he was desperate, it seemed, and decided to try his fortune overseas, but through the backdoor.
He entered the undercarriage of a KQ airliner so he could fly without papers and paying, a suicidal attempt.
With a ground-shaking thud, the body fell when the plane released its wheels for landing at Heathrow, almost hitting a man lying on a sun lounge and reading a book.
He fell about 3,500 feet and his body left a crater.
But KAA said their investigation had established that though Colnet lLimited is a cleaning company contracted by Kenya Airports Authority, the name Paul Manyasi does not appear in the JKIA staff register.
"All staff working in the airport require access pass. The name Paul Manyasi does not appear in the airport pass Biometric Register," the authority said.
It said the identity of the stowaway is an open and active investigation and any information received will be investigated to ensure a factual conclusion.
"We wish to reiterate that safety and security within our airports remains our foremost priority," the authority said.