NAIROBI, Kenya- Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has raised fresh questions over the circumstances surrounding the death of former Emurua Dikirr MP John Ng’eno, alleging that intelligence information he received points to a possible issue involving aviation fuel used by the helicopter that carried the lawmaker.
Speaking during a media briefing at the Democratic Congress Party (DCP) headquarters on Tuesday, Gachagua claimed that the helicopter stopped to refuel in Eldoret after dropping Ng’eno at Endebess.
Gachagua alleged that the fuel used at the Eldoret airstrip had been transported from Lodwar and questioned whether its source or quality could have contributed to problems encountered by the aircraft.
“I have intelligence information as follows… on the fateful day after Ng’eno was dropped at Endebess, the helicopter went to fuel in Eldoret,” Gachagua said.
He claimed that Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) officials at the airstrip became suspicious of a vehicle that had allegedly transported the aviation fuel from Lodwar.
“High alert Kenya Revenue officials noticed an unusual car that had carried the jet fuel. It was arrested and the driver questioned. The driver revealed to them that he transported the fuel from Lodwar,” he alleged.
Gachagua further claimed that the KRA official and police officers at Eldoret airstrip were subsequently threatened and allegedly instructed by authorities in Nairobi to release the driver.
“Immediately this KRA official and the police at the Eldoret airstrip were instructed from Nairobi to free this driver if they cared for their lives,” he said.
He questioned whether the alleged fuel issue could have affected the helicopter’s performance at high altitude.
“Is it this fuel that caused the chopper not to pick up at high altitude? Is that why the pilot first came down and tried again to pick up?” he asked.
The former Deputy President also questioned what CS Kipchumba Murkomen may have known about the alleged incident involving the KRA and police officers at Eldoret airstrip.
“What did Kipchumba Murkomen know about the people who caught this KRA officer and the police at Eldoret airstrip officials?” Gachagua asked.
He called on the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) to release CCTV footage from the facility covering the day in question, saying the recordings could help establish what happened at the airstrip.
“Can Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) produce the CCTV footage of the facility on this fateful date at the facility?” he asked.
Gachagua said the circumstances surrounding Ng’eno’s death required greater public scrutiny and called for the findings of an official investigation to be made public.
“We are still waiting on a report on what killed Johana Ng’eno,” he said.
