Manama: Kuwait’s interior minister has ordered the formation of a committee to investigate the case of an Asian stowaway who boarded a plane carrying senior officials to Uganda.
The committee will be very strict with everyone, regardless of how high their ranks or positions are, the general directorate for relations and security media said in a statement.
The formation of the committee by Shaikh Mohammad Khalid Al Hamad Al Sabah aims to determine exactly how the incident happened and to identify deficiencies, the statement said, adding that the findings will be revealed as soon as the probe is over.
The stowaway was discovered as the plane was about to take off and fly the interior ministry undersecretary Sulaiman Al Fahd and a high-profile security delegation to Uganda where they were to attend the 84th general assembly of the International Police (Interpol).
When the stowaway was asked who he was and why he was hiding, he said that he wanted to migrate to the US and that boarding the plane secretly would help him achieve his objective.
The pilot contacted the control tower and informed them that he wanted to abort the take-off and that he needed to turn back to fix an issue.
The stowaway was referred to the security authorities and the plane was able to take off after half an hour.
The probe will provide an explanation how the stowaway was able to board the private plane, particularly that it was located near the VIP hall at the Amiri airport where security is at the highest levels.
It will also determine whether the stowaway was telling the truth when he mentioned migrating to the US and will explain the reasons he selected a plane heading to Uganda.
