Im Allowed to Fly My Kin in Police Aircraft, Says Kenya Police Air Wing Commandant Rodgers Mbithi
Beleaguered Kenya Police Air Wing Commandant Rodgers Mbithi has told a team of investigators he committed no crime in allowing his daughter-in-law to fly in a police fixed wing plane from Mombasa to Nairobi.
Mr Mbithi said in his statement that the law permits him to allow his pilots to pick and fly his relatives and civilians.
He also said the presence of the Cessna 208 Caravan (5Y-POL) in Mombasa on April 2 as terrorists struck Garissa University College did not delay or stop the flying of Recce personnel to the scene.
A team of five officers has been appointed to investigate the Kenya Police Air Wing over allegations that the unit failed to respond in time in the wake of the attack, in which 148 people were killed.
Mbithi (pictured) told the team that Police Standing Orders 209 allow civilians or relatives into such planes.
"The carriage of civilians or relatives of Air Wing officers is prohibited except with the express permission of formation/provincial commanders of Commandant Air Wing," says part of the procedures for operating planes there, which he cited.
He told the team that he called the captain who had the plane that day and asked if he could bring his daughter-in-law and two children to Nairobi.
"The in-law and family resides in the Coast and I was only asking for a lift to Nairobi. The pilot had the discretion of refusing to carry any passenger. He agreed to fly them."
"The law allows me or any other commander to do so," he told the officers.
In his statement, he said the Air Wing has only three serviceable aircraft, which include one small helicopter with a capacity for only four passengers, and two fixed wing caravans.
On that day, the air wing had only one operational task to Turkwel, Turkana County, to take GSU Commandant Joel Kitili with Bell 206 helicopter and one programmed training flight to Mombasa by the Cessna flight.
By the time the flights departed from Wilson Airport, the officers had not been informed of any need to fly to Garissa.
Recce Squad
The Cessna plane left Wilson at 7.26a.m. and landed in Mombasa at 9.17am and took the recommended 20 minutes on the ground. During this time the pilot picked the three civilians before starting the journey back to Nairobi at 9.49 a.m. He landed at Wilson Airport at 11.36a.m.
By then, they had been ordered to be ready to fly the 18-member Recce Squad to Garissa. The team took an hour to drive from Ruiru to Wilson Airport.
Earlier on, at about 9 a.m., Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet, Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery and a number of North Eastern region politicians had flown to Garissa in two Kenya Forest Service and Kenya Wildlife Service helicopters.
It was after he landed in Garissa that Mr Boinnet called Nairobi saying he needed the Recce Squad there. And because Boinnet and Nkaissery had used the only available helicopters, the Recce team was told to drive to the airport to pick the two available fixed wing planes.
Another team with medical equipment was told to drive to Garissa as they were too heavy to be ferried in the planes.
The planes could not fly to Ruiru to pick the team, which had been on standby since 6am when an alarm went off over the attack in Garissa, because there is no runway there.
- standardmedia.co.ke
Comments
Leave mbithi alone,if the law
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Leave mbithi alone,if the law gives him power to ferry his relatives then why should he go thru this crap.He didn't know the. Garrisa attack will happen???Where were the military chopper???must they use the police aircraft???Incase of such attack all this departments r to work together.Instead of firing mbithi n he has permission to fly his pple,change the law but the the men alone.They say law can b an ass sometimes.
Tell them that the Al Shabaab
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Tell them that the Al Shabaab sponsor RAO had not alerted you of his intention to attack GUC.
Let me get this straight,
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Let me get this straight, this SOB interprets this provision as a means of flying the aircraft from Nairobi to Mombasa to pick up his relatives? I have never heard anywhere a supervisor supervises themselves! Common sense, you must have an approval from a same ranking person or above unless he thinks he is not governed by laws and regulations governing others. And who were these putting a provision allowing employees to use government aircrafts for relatives and civilians?? This guy should be sued by each and every family who lost their kids, if it wasn't for this delay maybe a life or two could have been saved. ONLY IN KENYA, surely.
You are right eddy....a real
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You are right eddy....a real SOB! hehe!
Why didn't @eddy complain
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Why didn't @eddy complain about the many US campaign visits by RAO between 2008 and 2013 where he used to spend(waste/burn) $200000 taxpayers money daily?Who was supervising him?Or you can't point at your murderous god?
Weee Baraka, read through my
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Weee Baraka, read through my posts, I have no place with loosers you are calling my "god" who will never see the door of the house on the hill no matter how much he tries and demonizes others. On the same breath this Mbithi guy uses and claims to have rights using government aircrafts when kids are getting killed. This is a lapse of good judgment on such a high ranking guy like this! The big question is, who are these morons who think its okay to give a provision for ANYONE to use these vehicles for their families and civilians?? You gotta be kidding me.
If that is how the tax payers
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If that is how the tax payers money is spent them Kenyans have no business paying taxes. Mbithi should out of work now for abuse of power stealing by servant.
From my understanding,
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From my understanding, corruption to Kenyans is when you pay someone money through the back door to offer you some service/ favor as opposed to following the right channels. IF USING PUBLIC RESOURCES FOR PERSONAL GAINS IS NOT CORRUPTION, THEN I GIVE UP ON MY BIRTH COUNTRY KENYA. I have to take ethic courses every two years just to be reminded that Tax payers deserve the best I included.
Mbithi's verbal diarrhea
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Mbithi's verbal diarrhea reminds me of a fool who insists that because they have the right of way while driving, they do not care whether ongoing traffic is paying attention or not.....they drive right on into oncoming traffic....hurting or killing themselves because they were right, anyway! Shut up idiot! Only a fool will argue they were right at such a time...right or wrong, we lost 147 young, promising kidos, that your were somehow responsible for!!!! Meeeen, bald or grey does not mean wisdom!
The law or regulation may
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The law or regulation may allow him to use police aircraft to ferry relatives but he is supposed to use his head whether public use or family use comes first. If he is not fired for corruption, he should definitely be fired for lousy judgement.
This is to add insults into
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This is to add insults into injuries. Mbithi you made a big mistake and instead of apologizing to those who lost their loved ones you are boasting on how you are entitled to use the Kenya Police Air Wing personal use. Furthermore the Kenya Police Air Wing is bought by my money that Kanju takes by force. You will be blamed again & again na tena sana.
In other words, mbithi is
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In other words, mbithi is telling kenyans to seek apology from the government and since the government is not firing him, I guess he is telling the truth then. However, where is common sense Mr mbithi? If the same government suggest that you jump from the same aircraft without a parachute at 1000ft, would you? We shouldn't sin no matter who say we should. Just apologize and resign and tell your government to stop wasting money on paying you because you are not available when kenyans desperately need you.
@ Fafanua, am with you. This
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@ Fafanua, am with you. This guy is a total idiot to be puking such verbal diarrhea. He has even the nerve to say that, "The pilot had the discretion of refusing to carry any passenger. He agreed to fly them." How could a low level pilot have the discreti
How stupid can someone be. If
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How stupid can someone be. If I was his boss I would fire him right a way. He sounds like a fool, a total idiot. The people in charge need to be held responsible for deletion of duty. They are being paid far too much money for doing so little. Corruption and incompetence all over the country. Ferrying my family my ass, while innocent kids are being slaughtered by terrorists.
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