I don't believe Prigozhin is dead – Mutahi Ngunyi

Political analyst Mutahi Ngunyi has weighed in on the alleged death of the leader of Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin saying he doesn't believe he is dead.

Prigozhin is presumed dead after a manifest indicated he was on board a private jet that crashed on Wednesday in Russia killing all 10 passengers.

The incident occurred just months after he led an aborted mutiny against President Vladimir Putin before he fled to Belarus. 

Ngunyi said it's highly unlikely that Prigozhin was on the plane when it came down at a village located between Moscow and St Petersburg.

"I do not believe Prigozhin is dead. You do not stage a coup against Putin one day, and then return to Moscow the following day. This coup against Putin was fake," Ngunyi said in a statement on Friday.

There has been no official confirmation about Prigozhin's death even after Russia's state-run news agency Interfax said all 10 bodies have been recovered.

The aircraft had been in the air for less than half-an-hour before it crashed. A clip emerged showing the moment the plane fell from the sky before catching fire. 

Some media outlets in Russia claimed the aircraft was shot down by Russian air defences in the Tver region.

Putin denied having anything to do with the crash even though he termed the abortive mutiny a betrayal and a stab in the back in his initial reaction.

Ngunyi echoed sentiments by a section of experts in Russia and abroad who suggested that the revolt against Putin was staged and Prigozhin abandoned his "justice march" on Moscow on Putin's direct orders. 

He appeared to suggest that the mercenary leader faked his death in order to acquire a new identity.

"It did not make sense in Real Politik. Prigozhin has gone underground. He will re-emerge in Africa with a brand new face," he said.

In a speech to Wagner mercenaries in Belarus in July, Prigozhin said the group would "set off on a new path - to Africa."

In a most recent video message seemingly filmed in Africa, Prigozhin said, "We're making life a nightmare for ISIS (Islamic State) and al-Qaeda and other bandits".