On a chilly Sunday morning of June 10, 2012, a police helicopter, a Eurocopter AS-350 model carrying two key public figures crashed.
The helicopter was carrying the then Internal Security minister George Saitoti and his assistant Orwa Ojode.
The country was thrown into mourning following news the two had perished after the helicopter crashed and exploded on impact.
They died alongside two pilots and two bodyguards on their way to a Harambee in Ndhiwa, Homa Bay county.
Investigations later revealed the crash, deep inside Kibiko forest, happened shortly after 9 am, just ten minutes after taking off from Wilson Airport.
On the controls were Captain Luke Oyugi and Nancy Gituanja.
Eleven years later, questions still linger as to what exactly happened on that fateful day.
Several theories have been put forward in an attempt to give an explanation, despite a commission of inquiry being formed to investigate the same.
The commission led by then Justice Kalpana Rawal was told the control tower at Wilson Airport lost touch with the two pilots six minutes after take off.
In a report released by the commission in October 2012, pilot error, bad weather and the condition of the helicopter battery were listed as some of the possible causes of the crash.
According to the report, the two pilots were not fully experienced to fly in bad weather, while the helicopter’s battery was not properly maintained and could have caused the fire if it was overcharged.
However, what caught the attention of Kenyans was the revelation by government forensic pathologists Dorothy Njeru and Amritpal Kalsi that Saitoti’s body contained significant levels of carbon monoxide poisoning.
“Examination of all the bodies indicated a cherry-pink discolouration of body tissues, which is consistent with carbon monoxide poisoning. The normal colour usually takes a darker shade,” Njeru told the commission.
Days before his untimely death, Saitoti had revealed that there were plans to eliminate him.
Reports had indicated that just two days to his demise, Saitoti declined to spend a night in a room that had been booked for him during an MPs’ function in Mombasa. He instead opted to book a different room.
He was expected to table a report on the illegal drug trafficking syndicate in the country and had threatened to expose those who were involved in the drug trade in Kenya.
