4 police officers airlifted to Nairobi after Meru air crash » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya June 13 – Four police officers who sustained injuries when a police chopper crashed in Meru Saturday morning have been airlifted to Nairobi for specialised treatment.

Only one, Isaiah Nakoru, the Regional Commissioner for Eastern, is still admitted to the Meru Level Five Hospital, where he was being stabilized before he could taken to Nairobi. Officials said he sustained serious injuries in the crash.

Those airlifted to Nairobi were aboard a Kenya Airforce aircraft that landed at Wilson airport at 2pm, before they were taken to hospital in ambulances.

They were received at the Wilson Airport by Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi and Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai.

Matiangi said the chopper was ferrying the officers to Sololo in Marsabit for a security meeting.

“The officers were enroute to Marsabit for a security operation where there is border conflict. The meeting will proceed, bringing together officers from Wajir and Marsabit. In the meantime,” he said.

Matiangi has vowed “it will be painful” in Marsabit where locals continue to engage in politically instigated violance.

He said more security personnel will be deployed there, but has hinted at the change of strategy in handling the politically-instigated violence in Marsabit.

“I am concerned by the number of public officials we have lost because of the conflict around Marsabit area. We are now increasingly convinced that we need to change our doctrine of internal security in that particular part of the country,” he said.

After the 7am incident, the injured officers were rushed to Meru Level Five hospital before the military aircraft was dispatched to airlift them to Nairobi.

It was not the first time government officials on a security mission were involved in an air crash enroute to Marsabit.

In April 2006, 14 lives were lost while on a peace mission to the area including five Members of Parliament.

They include Bonaya Godana, a veteran politician and a legal scholar as well as the then Internal Security Assistant Minister Mirugi Kariuki.

“The day a political leader is jailed for this kind of thing, this will end. We must change our approach. We cannot be losing officers every day to this kind of thing,” Matiangi said, blaming the violence in Marsabit to political incitement.