A Narok County government employee has recounted how a mere five-minute delay saved him from boarding the ill-fated helicopter that claimed the life of Emurua Dikir Member of Parliament Johana Ng’eno and five others.
The three-term lawmaker was among six people killed in Saturday evening’s helicopter crash at Chepkiep, Mosop Constituency in Nandi County.
In an interview with the Nation , Mr Geoffrey Bett, popularly known as Gechwo and a close friend of MP Ng’eno, revealed that he was supposed to travel to Trans Nzoia County with the lawmaker on the ill-fated helicopter that crashed at Nandi North Forest.
Others who died include the pilot George Were, the MP’s photographer Nick Kosgei, Amos Kipngetich Rotich, an officer with the Kenya Forest Service (KFS), teacher Robert Keter and Wycliffe Kiprotich Rono.
A scene where a chopper crashed at Chepkiep Village in Mosop Sub-County of Nandi County on February 28, 2026, where six occupants died on the spot.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation
“I was to board the same chopper, but arrived at the agreed pick-up point five minutes late. This defined life and death for me,” Mr Bett said on Sunday.
Mr Bett, a resident of Murkan Junction in Emurua Dikir Constituency, had accompanied Mr Ng’eno to various functions on Friday before parting ways around 2 am. The two had agreed to meet the following day for the trip.
The MP initially told him he would travel to Nairobi on Saturday morning, then return with a helicopter for a trip to the North Rift Valley to attend an empowerment function for an artist.
However, Mr Ng’eno changed plans, ordering a helicopter to his home in Mokindo Village, Emurua Dikir, instead of first travelling to Nairobi. Initially, he intended to visit Trans Nzoia, then Maria Ranta in the evening to check on progress in the search for people who had drowned in the Mara River three days earlier.
Mr Bett convinced the MP to visit the drowning site in Narok County first, before flying to Trans Nzoia.
“I travelled from Narok to Changina in Ainamoi, Elkerin Ward on Friday where the MP had a function. He asked me about the ongoing search for the drowning victims at Mara River. I informed him they had not been found and that’s when he decided to visit the scene the following day,” he recalled.
Geoffrey Kiprotich Kigen Bett, the man who missed the chopper ride by five minutes. The helicopter crashed at Chepkiep Village in Mosop Sub-County of Nandi County on February 28, 2026, where six occupants died on the spot.
Photo credit: Pool | Nation
On Saturday morning, Mr Bett repeatedly tried calling the MP to confirm the pick-up point and whether he had travelled to Nairobi as planned, but the calls did not go through for several hours.
“At 12.04 pm, the call finally connected. He told me I was already late as a helicopter was at his home and the only option was to go to Mara Rianta to link up,” Mr Bett revealed.
In a joking tone during their brief conversation, he told the legislator that he had failed him by not knowing the day’s plan in advance.
He took a boda boda—the fastest transport option—from his home to Mara Rianta, an estimated 35 kilometres, to catch up with the MP.
Three kilometres from the pick-up point, he saw the helicopter landing at the scene where the search for the drowned victims was ongoing. He hoped to catch up with the MP but spent only a short time there before the helicopter lifted off for Trans Nzoia.
“The boda boda, carrying three of us, developed a slow puncture. We had to drop the other two and proceed with the rider alone to ease pressure on the tyre. But by the time we arrived, the helicopter had already lifted off,” Mr Bett said.
When informed that he had missed the flight, he reflected that fate had saved his life.
“I was certain a space would have been created for me as usual since we had made prior arrangements but it was not to be. I thank God for giving me a second chance. I offer my condolences to the families of my boss and friends,” he said.
After missing the flight, Mr Bett participated in the search for the drowning victims alongside other community members, the Kenya Red Cross, police officers and county employees.
“We continued the search until 2 pm then I proceeded to Mogor in Mogindo Ward but heavy rain forced me to stop for another meeting at Motosiet area,” he said.
It was after this meeting that news of the helicopter crash and the feared deaths of those on board began to filter in.
“I called Carlos Keter but his phone went to voicemail. Then I called Nick Kosgei, the photographer. Usually, Kosgei does not pick up calls while traveling with the MP, but this time a stranger answered. He informed me that the owner of the phone had been in a helicopter crash and had died along with others. It was devastating,” Mr Bett said.
Emurua Dikirr MP Johana Ng’eno
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Reflecting on his relationship with the MP, he said, “Mr Ng’eno was my mentor and boss for a long time..”
Willy Korir, the Kilgoris Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Executive Secretary, told the Nation that the MP had presided over a meeting to distribute CDF bursaries at Mogindo before flying out.
“At the meeting, Mr Ng’eno casually mentioned that it was his first time using the ill-fated helicopter and that he was unfamiliar with the pilot. Little did anyone know it would be the last time they saw him alive,” Mr Korir said.
In the hours leading to the tragedy, the MP travelled through Kapkugo, Tulwop Kony and Endebess, joining residents and leaders in celebrations marking musician Kim Kim’s 35 years in the entertainment industry.
Earlier on the same day, he posted a one-minute, 32-second video from the helicopter flying over the Mara River area, interacting with residents and rescue teams searching for two young men swept away by floodwaters.
On Friday, he had presided over the issuance of bursaries to students in Ilkerin Ward under the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF), part of an educational support initiative he had championed for years.
