Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has dismissed social media reports that he constituted a team to investigate the late CDF General Francis Ogolla’s helicopter crash.
In a statement on Monday, April 22, Murkomen noted that the Ministry of Transport is restricted to civilian airplanes and does not investigate military planes.
“As a department of transport, we don’t investigate military planes. Our work is strictly restricted to civilian airplanes,” Murkomen explained.
The Transport CS pointed out that the role of investigating military chopper crashes is an exclusive mandate of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).
“As you heard from the President yesterday, it’s the exclusive mandate of the Kenya Defense Forces to investigate accidents involving military aircrafts. My Ministry deals with purely civil aviation both private and commercial which is non-military and non-state aviation,” Murkomen added.
The clarification comes after CS Murkomen formed a team to investigate aircraft accidents in the country.
In a gazette notice dated Friday, April 19, Murkomen named Captain Peter Maranga as the chairperson of the investigation team.
Maranga will be deputised by Engineer Fredrick Aggrey. Other members included in the investigation team are Captain Herman Nduati, Retired Lieutenant Mike Mulwa, Ephantus Kamau, Captain Valentine Wendoh, and Captain Martyn Lunani, Brenda Mwango will serve as a joint secretary.
Murkomen tasked the team with reviewing all the preliminary accident reports for accidents involving Kenya-registered and/or operated aircraft presented by the Republic of South Sudan and the Federal Republic of Somalia for the last five years.
The team was also directed to survey all the air misses in Kenya for the last three years and to investigate any other matter relating to or consequential to the accidents and make appropriate recommendations for the prevention of recurrence and to improve aviation safety in Kenya.
The Transport CS gave the team a period of three months to come up with a comprehensive report on aircraft crashes in the country.
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