The six people who perished in Saturday’s helicopter crash in Nandi, among them Emurua Dikirr MP Johana Ng’eno, died from a combination of severe trauma and burns caused by the impact, post-mortem examinations have established, deepening the grief that has engulfed Narok County and the country at large.
Chief Government Pathologist Dr Johansen Oduor said the findings showed that none of the victims survived the crash. He noted that the bodies bore injuries affecting vital parts of the body, including the head, chest and spine, alongside burns of different intensity. Even with the extent of damage, the victims were positively identified.
“Upon looking at the bodies, they had varying levels of injuries, which varied from head injuries, chest injuries and spinal injuries. They also have varying levels of burns. Some burns were beyond more than others, but they were identifiable. So with that, what you can say is that they died because of multiple injuries and burns, and these were caused by the helicopter crash,” he said.
The helicopter went down at about 4:45 pm, killing the lawmaker and five other Kenyans in an incident that stunned residents of Emurua Dikirr and leaders across the political divide.
As the country absorbed the loss, debate erupted in the National Assembly over how news of the MP’s death was made public. Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah criticised former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua for disclosing the death during a political rally before the family had formally communicated it.
Addressing the House on Tuesday, Ichung’wah said such conduct was insensitive and misplaced.
“Even before the immediate family gets to know of the loss of a loved one, you are there in a political rally announcing their death. It’s shameful, Honourable Speaker,” he said.
He accused Gachagua of turning a moment of mourning into a political platform.
“This is a dark man with a very black and dark heart and soul. Somebody who has no feeling, no respect for family, no respect for anybody. Somebody who has scavenged on anything, including death, to try and drive or get some political capital,” Ichung’wah told the House.
He went on to denounce what he described as efforts to stir divisions along ethnic lines.
“Shame on you that you should use the departure of one of us to do your cheap ethnic-based politics or even imagine that you can incite one sub-tribe against another or one community against another,” he said.
Ichung’wah told members that he had accompanied the Speaker to Ng’eno’s rural home and saw firsthand the sorrow the family was enduring.
“Honourable Speaker, you were at Ngeno’s house this morning. You saw how distraught that family is. It’s sad that somebody who purports to be a leader, and I don’t know of what because he leads nothing, can use such an opportunity to be seen as if you are celebrating the passing on of another human being. That is what a man with a black heart does. That is what those with dark souls do. And I say shame on them as we mourn our colleague and the five other Kenyans who lost their lives,” he said.
Meanwhile, preparations for the final send-off are underway. The family announced that the burial will be held on Friday, March 6, after consultations between relatives and leaders in Narok County.
A requiem mass will take place on Wednesday, March 4, at Nairobi Baptist Church, giving friends, leaders and constituents an opportunity to pay tribute. On Thursday, March 5, a night vigil will be observed in line with Kipsigis customs as part of the traditional rites.
Narok Governor Patrick Ntutu, who is also Ng’eno’s father-in-law, said the bodies of Ng’eno and Wycliffe Kiprotich Rono will spend the night at his home because they were married under Kipsigis tradition.
The other four victims, who were not married, will equally be taken to Ng’eno’s residence in keeping with cultural practices and family wishes.
On the day of the funeral, a joint service will be conducted at Emurua Dikirr Primary School, where large crowds are expected. Thereafter, the bodies will be transported to their respective homes for individual burials.
Ng’eno began his parliamentary journey in 2013 on a Kenya National Congress ticket. He successfully defended his seat in 2017 under the Kenya African National Union and again in 2022 on a United Democratic Alliance ticket, earning a reputation as a leader who managed to survive shifting political tides in the South Rift.
