Police headquarters ignored a recommendation from the Internal Security permanent secretary that they consult their AP counterparts before purchasing a helicopter that killed two ministers, it emerged on Thursday at the inquest probing the June 10 Ngong air crash.
A witness told the commission of inquiry that when the idea to acquire a new aircraft was brought to the attention of the PS, he recommended that consultations be held between the regular and the Administration Police units.
This was because the APs already had a list approved by the Public Procurement Oversight Authority.
They were also in the process of acquiring helicopters.
The commission’s fifth witness, Mr John Mwai Wambugu, who chaired the special security tender committee that sanctioned buying of the ill-fated Eurocopter, said the PS’s advice was ignored.
“We were not sure whether the APs were getting their supply from the manufacturers,” Mr Wambugu explained the reasons for not heeding the PS’s advice.
The chopper in the spotlight crashed, killing the Internal Security Minister, Prof George Saitoti and assistant minister Joshua Orwa Ojodeh alongside their police bodyguards and flight crew at Kibiku area of Ngong shortly after take-off from Wilson airport, Nairobi.
“We did not bind ourselves to the recommendation but used our discretion. We also intended to buy directly from the manufacturer,” Mr Wambugu said.
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The chief finance officer at police headquarters was accused of adding a few words recommending the purchase of the chopper to a letter written by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority to the PS.
Saitoti family lawyers Fredrick Ngatia and Moyiani Sankole told Mr Wambugu he had not been honest in his subsequent communication to the PS after an initial attempt to buy the aircraft directly from the manufacturer was rejected.
Mr Wambugu, who had earlier disowned the letter then acknowledged that he had injected these words:
“The model’s performance was well known and had a reliable back up maintenance and service facility.”
He admitted that the letter from KCAA did not specify the performance of the aircraft.
Pedestrian
“It was from my own pedestrian point of view that I wrote it that way,” the finance officer defended himself.
He said he limited his options to Bell helicopters and Eurocopter with the former losing out in the bid.
The sitting was adjourned to August 2 after the State sought to be allowed time to prepare the next witnesses.
The inquiry is led by Judge Kalpana Rawal and is expected to find out the cause of the crash and events leading to it. It is also investigating the chopper’s buying process.