Chris Ghalily’s dream to fly the first Kenyan made drone has faced challenges from the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, terming his invention as one that cannot be licensed.
The body said that Ghalily’s invention has not yet be covered in the Kenyan aviation laws and they would not know how to authorize it.
Speaking to Kenya Television Network (KTN) Ghalily said that he is a certified aeronautical engineer and he knows the flight paths to avoid, something the aviation authority was worried about.
The engineer studies aeronautical engineer here in Kenya and also furthered his studies in China and was able to use this knowledge to create the drone.
“What they should do is to give us an altitude on which we should fly the drones,” Ghalily said. “My drone is meant to fly over roofs.”
But this case contradicts what other organizations have been able to do in terms of drone use. Late last year, search engine giant Google launched a programme that would use drones to monitor wildlife in parts of Africa. This programme was funded with a grant from World Wildlife Fund to a tune of US$5 million.
Ghalily, has gotten intense training to manage and fly the drones and he is willing to train others.
As for now, he has to wait for the government approval to fly the drones in the Kenyan airspace.