Consumer drones have become quite the rage in the last few years thanks to companies like DJI. They make drones that people can easily buy and use for various things like photography or videography.
However, drone regulation and use has been a mess in Kenya. Early this month, the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) said that flying drones is illegal and it carried a heavy fine.
It seems now drone operators will have a glimmer hope regarding the use of drones in Kenya.
It is now being reported that Kenya will lift the ban on drones in the coming weeks/months. This will be done once fresh regulations being developed in line with ICAO rules (International Civil Aviation Organization) are approved by parliament. The statements were said by KCAA’s Director General, Gilbert Kibe.
This announcement comes 3 weeks after they said that using drones is illegal. If they found you liable, you could serve a prison sentence of upto 12 months or a fine of hundreds of thousands of shillings.
Parliament invalidated the proposed Remote Piloted Aircraft Systems Regulations 2017 last year where the committee expressed concerns over privacy, minimal public participation and inconsistency in the application of fines. To fix these issues, KCAA staged a participation forum for public comments on the proposed drone regulations in May this year and you can actually see the proposed draft in KCAA’s website here.
It seems like drone owners have to wait a while to use their precious drones once the regulations being developed are approved by Parliament, and that day hasn’t been set as of now.
