Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua may have to wait a little bit longer to start using the Augusta Westland chopper, which is being upgraded for his private and official use.
The chopper, one of the three brought into the country from Italy five years ago, has been lying at the National Police Air Wing at the Wilson Airport since 2020.
It has emerged that painting and maintenance on its interior have been carried out but it is yet to be cleared to fly.
“The first tests done early this year were to check its worthiness, otherwise for now it is far from being complete...it still requires millions of money,” a source at the wing aware of the ongoing development said.
There have been reports that the chopper is complete and ready for use.
However, so far, the helicopter has had its police colours and registration 5Y-DIG removed and instead decorated with a strip of the Kenyan flag.
Multiple sources who spoke to the Star said a team of aviation specialists brought into the country from Egypt to do the reconfiguration completed their work and left.
In the multimillion upgrade conducted by the team, surveillance cameras and a screen monitor at the cabin was detached and customised for passenger use.
Initially, it had two vehicle-mounted stations, which can be taken to any part of the country, where there is conflict, to enable commanders see the real situation on the ground.
It was specifically designed for use by the police and could zoom into vehicles and people in a crowd within a range of five kilometres.
During the Covid-19 outbreak, police used it for air surveillance before it was grounded and has since then not been used.
Maintenance, repair, and overhaul options of a chopper include complete inspections, full structural support, repairs and modifications.
For the chopper to be cleared to fly it has to get a clearance, air worthiness as well as the maintenance certificate from the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority.
“Currently, we do not have experts to maintain it and if we are to, the authority has to write to the manufacturer for approval and licence the individuals to do the works,” another official said.
Currently, there are only four pilots with capabilities to fly the chopper.
The chopper will now be under the fleet managed by the National Air Support Department formed by former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
NASD brings together aviation resources from National Police Air Wing, Kenya Forest Service, the Kenya Wildlife Service and Kenya Electricity Transmission Company all stationed at the Wilson Airport.
The DP had reportedly asked the Kenya Airforce for a chopper to use and since they had no chopper to give him, they are said to have advised him to ask for one from the police.
Last October, State House chief of staff and Head of Public Service Felix Koskei wrote to then-Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai and ordered him to handover of one of the two Agusta AW139 choppers to the Kenya Airforce for use by the DP.
The military demanded that the police hand them a chopper that was factory-made for surveillance purposes amid protests.
