On Wednesday, March 2, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Director General, Brig (Rtd) John Waweru, landed at the Standard Media Group headquarters along Mombasa Road in a KWS helicopter for a morning radio interview.
The video caught the public eye with a section of Kenyans questioning why KWS would fly its DG from its headquarters on Langata Road or Wilson Airport to the media house, 20 minutes away.
Kenyans.co.ke has since established that Waweru did not fly from Langata Road as insinuated by a section of the members of the public. KWS Head of Corporate Communications, Teresia Igiria, told Kenyans.co.ke that Waweru had jetted in from Nakuru.
Igiria added that the institution's boss was in Nakuru County where he was attending a security meeting before his engagement with Spice FM on Wednesday morning.
"The matter may have been taken out of context. The DG was attending a security meeting in Nakuru, then from the security meeting he headed to Nairobi to attend the early morning interview," she noted.
She added that the chopper was not exclusively assigned to the Director General and that it immediately left the Standard Media Group premises for a different assignment.
"From the video, you can actually see his luggage being disembarked from the chopper before it left. KWS has a number of choppers which are dispatched to carry out operations across the country," Igiria added.
The KWS helicopter registered under aviation plate number 5Y-KWW landed at a designated landing spot at the Standard Group at about 8.00am, sparking a debate on social media. Aspiring Westlands Member of Parliament and outgoing Law Society of Kenya President, Nelson Havi, castigated the incident.
"That's Kenya for you. Using a chopper from Langata to Mombasa Road? Using our money? Really? Who can save this country?" Gerald Kiraima posed.
Following the findings, it is clear that taxpayers' money was not misused to ferry the KWS boss over a 20-kilometer distance as alleged. After the interview, the Director General was picked up by a KWS vehicle assigned to him.
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