Newspapers on Sunday, March 1, reported more about the tragic helicopter crash in which Emurua MP Dikirr Johanna Ng’eno died.
Source: UGC
One of the newspapers covered Ng’eno’s last moments before the fatal accident.
1. Sunday Nation
The Sunday Nation went back to the last moments of MP Johanna Ng’eno and five others who died in a helicopter crash.
Witnesses said the plane landed in Chepkiep at about 4:30pm due to bad weather, where the pilot spoke briefly to curious villagers before taking off again.
Just two kilometers from there, the helicopter hit three large trees, crashed, and caught fire. Villagers reported hearing a “loud bang” and seeing heavy smoke at 4:45 p.m.
Those who rushed to the area found the wreckage burnt, while six passengers were thrown several meters away and badly burned.
“There was a lot of fog due to the heavy rain that was continuing to fall. The helicopter started moving in circles while flying in the air before falling into the forest and bursting into flames,” recalled witness David Chepkwony Maiyo.
Another witness, Mary Chepkiech, described the difficulty of getting to the crash site:
“Getting to the crash site was very difficult due to the bad terrain. The flame was very big, and we couldn’t fight it.”
All six passengers were pronounced dead at the scene, and the MP’s bodyguard, Kiplangat Cheruiyot, identified the remains of his boss and colleagues.
By 8:45pm, the bodies were still in the area awaiting transfer to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital before being airlifted to Nairobi.
The accident ended the career of Ng’eno, a fierce Rift Valley politician with more ambitions than Narok.
For three years, he had championed the Kalenjin Music Festival Awards, organizing multi-million shilling events to honor artists, and even extended the celebrations to the Sebei community of Uganda.
He often visited musicians in their homes, attended anniversaries, and led fundraising campaigns, insisting that “music and such talent should not be equated with poverty.”
A few hours before his death, he had attended many events, including the 35th anniversary celebration of Artist Kim Kim in Trans Nzoia.
Earlier in the day, he joined families and rescue teams in Mara to find bodies swept away by the floods, posting video from a dead helicopter.
Later, he attended an event in Endebess hosted by MP Robert Pukose, where he celebrated a milestone for Kim Kim and the community.
2. National Sunday
The newspaper reported on the opposition of the governor of Siaya James Orengo to the wider government.
He has strongly criticized the ODM leader, Oburu Odingasaying he does not have the qualifications to lead the party.
Orengo claimed Oburu had turned ODM into a commercial product for his personal gain. With a history of fighting for democracy and opposing one-party rule, Orengo was an important pillar in the former prime minister’s politics. Raila Odinga.
As Raila’s chief legal adviser and among those who helped form the central coalition government in 2008, Orengo has been in ODM for many years.
But now, he seems to have changed when he confronts Oburu.
In a detailed interview with Taifa on Sunday, Orengo said Oburu, Raila’s brother and his county senator, is not fit to lead ODM.
“Oburu has never tasted tear gas,” Orengo said, adding that Oburu has never been arrested and detained in a police station or harassed for defending democracy, which is the foundation of ODM.
Orengo said people like Oburu, who have never put their lives in danger like Raila did, cannot lead ODM for the good of the party and the country.
“We cannot have ‘business’ leaders who seek their personal gains,” said Orengo, speaking of the worsening situation in ODM due to leaders linked to financial interests and family leadership.
This situation has made Orengo to join the “Linda Mwananchi” movement led by Edwin Sifuna, insisting that ODM needs a real leader, not “contract leaders” with financial interests instead of the interests of the party and the public.
Orengo also criticized the government-wide agreement, saying it is not a real political alliance but a plan that some people have joined the Kenya First government.
He pointed out that ODM as a party is not in government, and that the current government should not call itself integrated because it is not formed like the one formed by the grand coalition in 2008, where there was a balance of power between the president and the prime minister.
He explained that during the administration of the former president Uhuru Kenyattathere was coalition management focused on equality and cooperation between parties, but now, ODM is increasingly losing direction.
“We are opponents in every way, but we should not be afraid or hide. ODM needs a leader who knows how to manage things effectively,” said Orengo.
Orengo did not seem worried about losing a political seat without Raila, saying that there are certain parts of ODM that will not be able to win without Raila’s presence, but he made it clear that if ODM strengthens itself and does not accept being used by political businessmen, it can flourish in the future.
“ODM should not be used as a party for personal gain. If we have real leaders, we will get back on track,” said Orengo.
Answering a question about the possibility of running for the presidency, the governor said that at the moment, his role is to ensure that ODM is a strong party, but if there is an opportunity to lead, he will take that position with dedication.
“When the time comes, I will be ready to take the reins of leadership because I know why I am fighting,” said Orengo.
3. The Standard
The newspaper reserved space for attacks launched against Iran by the United States and Israel.
The two countries launched a major military strike against Tehran on Saturday, February 28, in what they described as a move to “counter the threat” from Tehran.
The operation, codenamed Operation Lion, began with a series of attacks targeting major Iranian cities and military bases, including Tehran, Isfahan, Qom and other areas.
According to the Israeli Defense Ministry, the attack was premeditated and planned in close cooperation with the United States for several weeks.
Israel declared a national emergency after the explosion and fighting broke out in Iran, saying it had fired missiles aimed at the country and Iran.
US President Donald Trump has confirmed that he is cooperating with Israel to launch a “massive military operation” against Iran, stressing that the aim is to destroy its military capabilities and prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
He added that this step is to protect the peace of America and its allies.
“We have repeatedly tried to reach an agreement, but nothing has happened,” he said, adding that his country would destroy their missiles and completely dismantle its missile industry.
The attacks, which were carried out in parallel with the hacking of Iranian government websites, came despite repeated talks to try to reach an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program.
Several news organizations linked to the Iranian government have reportedly been targeted by cyberattacks following the US and Israeli military strikes against Iran, according to a statement posted on the Telegram channel of the extremist Hamshahri newspaper.
The report said that a “massive surge” of online activity coincided with an increase in military attacks, with several major local news platforms experiencing outages or operational problems.
According to earlier reports cited by the station, the websites of the state-run IRNA News Agency and the unofficial ISNA were among the outlets reported to have been hacked.
There were also reports of malfunctions affecting some of Iran’s most-used missiles, although further details about the source or nature of the attacks were not immediately clear.
In the weeks before the attacks, the US and Iran were holding talks that were expected to produce results, but differences over the scale of Iran’s missile program prevented it from happening.
Iranian media reported explosions, including in the capital, Tehran.
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