Kapasaret Member of Parliament Oscar Sudi, on Friday, March 24, offered to sponsor a 17-year-old boy arrested for trespassing and attempting to fly an aircraft belonging to his neighbour in Gilgil, Nakuru County.
In a statement, Sudi urged security agencies to pardon the boy and instead allow the MP to enroll him at an aviation school.
“I kindly beseech the authorities to pardon this young man from Gilgil. Please hand him over to me, I will take him to an aviation school," Sudi stated.
The MP, an ally of President Williiam Ruto, was among the Kenyans who defended the teenager after reports about his arrest broke.
The incident sparked mixed reactions, with several Kenyans expressing their reactions regarding the boy's fate.
Some called upon stakeholders in the aviation sector to consider helping the boy as he was passionate about flying.
"Airways, Airforce and Police Air wing should recruit this boy and train him as a pilot," a Twitter user stated.
A police report indicated that the boy sneaked into his neighbour's compound and accessed the sprayer aircraft with the intention of flying it.
He started the engine and taxied his way out of the hangar, where it was parked, into the compound of the highly protected farm.
However, his ambitions were cut short after he crashed into a live electric fence encircling the farm.
Subsequently, the police based in Gilgil arrested and detained him, awaiting further investigations to ascertain the motive behind his actions.
The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) discouraged such incidents and warned that it would not relent in its mandate to ensure compliance with the standards of operations within the aviation sector.
Pilots were also urged to ensure stowaways and other unauthorised persons do not board their planes. The directives were issued after a man was arrested for hanging on a chopper ferrying former Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya in Meru County in June 2022.
