Diversion of a scheduled flight has many consequences. 1. Would there have been insurance for that sector? When the insurer hears of unplanned detours, premiums will inevitably go up. 2. Assuming there was just enough fuel to bring the plane back to nbo, were there credit arrangements to get extra duel in ebb (or that airport) 3. Given as m7 would have flown first class, the whole class would have been cleared for him. Would kq have bumped the first class pax/downgraded them? 4. What was the load factor, would passenger luggage have been left behind? 5. Was there CAA clearance for that diversion?
BTW there is no chance of kq being denied permission. There's code sharing where Uganda Airlines sells seats on kq as their own and reduction/cancellation of kq flights will hurt ug too.

I think the request was worth considering, after all the ug government would have settled the bill plus extra costs.

if only uganda had an airline and if gatundu had ...
but it would make more sense, if say Uhuru is traveling to uganda, and an air uganda is headed there, for the plane to pick him up at his home instead of all the inconvenience of holding back traffic and activity at jkia.

Both of you are probably right. And saying Museveni cannot harm KQ in some way is probably wrong. Kikwete shut down the East African paper, didn't he? Precedent.
I still think flatly refusing Museveni was ill-advised. Thinking like an Operations Manager at KQ I would see here some options, for instance, call CS Amina of Foreign Affairs, something like....Good evening Ms, we have here his excellency, who is making outrageous demands, you will kindly pick up the tab on the costs accomodating him will sandbag us, and if you don't we will not be able to accomodate, embarrassment to you, the ministry and statehouse....she probably sends an IOU or something. And yes, you downgrade those first class passengers and delay them or put them on another flight and comp them a free ticket,..they will bitch and moan and then forget about it. Haven't we all been disenchfranchised by KQ, and indeed other airlines and we still fly with them?
And about the chartered flight, yes Museveni could have done that. Hehehe...pretending the rich and powerful will always be reasonable is naive. The order of events was the request was made, the politically incorrect but pragmatic decision would have been to ferry Museveni by charter flight from his home to where the Embraer was making its regular flight.
Do not needlessly make powerful enemies· Seems sensible and pragmatic enough, doesn't it? On the balance of outcomes, the cost and inconviniences that would have been suffered by KQ are much less than having Museveni as an enemy. Not only is KQ in bad books with the Ugandan president, but also with bureacrats in very high places in the Kenyan establishment who have been embarrassed by KQs actions. They are hissing in anger cause a dressdown has come or will be coming, and they will seek to put KQ (or one of its high managers) in its place for its haughtiness using petty, non-conventional ways......grudges are bad for business.
Not to mention KQ let slip an opportunity to 'oil' the diplomacy and foreign trade machinery, shine Kenya's good name some more; Some Ugandans may be slighted - 'KQ, the airline that snubbed our president'