Emurua Dikirr is one of the six constituencies in the vast Narok County that has been catapulted to the headlines by the helicopter crash that claimed area Member of Parliament Johana Kipyegon Ng’eno and five others a week ago.
On February 28, 2026 the pilot of the ill-fated plane – George Were, Nick Kosgei (photojournalist), Amos Kipngetich Rotich (an officer with the Kenya Forests Service), Carlos Bernard Keter (a teacher), Wycliff Kiprotich Rono (a protocol officer at Narok county government) and Mr Ng’eno died while flying back to Narok from Trans Nzoia.
Nandi chopper crash victims Col (Rtd) Captain George Were (left), Journalist Nick Kosgei, Protocol Officer at Narok County Government Wycliffe Kiprotich Rono, Kenya Forest Service Ranger Amos Rotich and Teacher Carlos Kipng'etich Keter.
Photo credit: Nation Media Group
Ng’eno, popularly known as Ngong, was a third term MP whose name was synonymous with Emurua Dikirr constituency, having fought so hard for its establishment and went on to be the first legislator to represent the region.
Official government records show the constituency that covers 320.50 square kilometres is inhabited by 111,183 people as per the 2019 census (the numbers have significantly changed in the last seven years) , with a 95 percent population captured as Christians and two percent being Muslims.
While Mr Ng’eno is believed to have won the 2007 general election against Mr Gideon Konchella for the Kilgoris parliamentary seat, the vote tally was not announced as a group of people disrupted the process as chaos erupted at the hall in Kilgoris.
Moitalel Ole Kenta addresses residents of Ntulele, Narok East constituency on June 17, 2022. The leaders called on GDC, Ketraco and KenGen companies to consider Maasai community in job opportunities
Photo credit: Robert Kiplagat | Nation Media Group
A recount was ordered, but the store in which the election material had securely been stored was torched by unknown people leading to a by-election which Mr Ng’eno ran on an ODM ticket but lost to Mr Konchella.
The loss led to tensions among the Maasai and Kipsigis community members leading to the establishment of Emurua Dikirr constituency ahead of the 2013 general election in what was seen as a major win for the residents.
The constituency in Transmara East region of Narok County, with members of the Kipsigis community being majority of the inhabitants, also has Emurua Dikirr trading centre as its headquarters and economic hub.
It has four civic wards – Ilkerin, Mogondo, Kapsasian and Ololmasani – which by the 2022 general elections records, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) had 44,447 registered voters.
The constituency is highly agriculturally productive with growing of maize and livestock rearing being the main preoccupation for the residents of the region in Narok County that borders Kisii and Bomet counties.
Emurua Dikirr Member of Parliament Johana Ng'eno
Photo credit: File | Nation
Mr Ng’eno recently said establishment of the constituency had opened up the region for development by the government donors, but hastened to add that it would be a long time before the residents are economically liberated as a result of historical injustices.
“Emurua Dikirr now has more than 45 secondary schools from the initial three, we have a Technical Training Institute and a Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) which have exposed the youth form the region to education and attracted investors to the area” Mr Ng’eno said.
The national government is constructing markets at Emurua Dikirr and Mamboleo trading centres that are expected to provide markets for agricultural produce from the region.
Poor roads network, however, remains the major headache to the residents as they cannot transport their goods to market in time and have difficulty moving from one point of the constituency to the other.
Water scarcity is a major issue with residents dependent on pans, local rivers and streams, and harvesting of rain water for domestic use.
Former Internal Security Minister Julius Sunkuli.
Issues affecting Emurua Dikirr and the neighbouring Kilgoris constituency represented in parliament by former Cabinet Minister Julius Ole Sunkuli are cross cutting.
Land rights is a thorny issue that has affected the area as it has led to fights among local communities resulting in death and injuries while police stand accused of playing a partisan role.
“Lack of identity cards which bedevilled the residents of the area inhibited their rights to vote for leaders of their choice, with the majority being forced to travel to the neighbouring Bmet county to secure the national ID cards” Mr Stanley Langat, a former Ilkerin Member of the County Assembly, said.
Mr Langat said members of the Kipsigis community have for years felt sidelined by the government that focuses development on areas that are inhabited by the predominant Maaasai community, which is considered an historical injustice.
“The push for the establishment of the Emurua Dikirr constituency was informed by the fact that skewed distribution of resources and underdevelopment for decades was as a result of lack of representation at a table where the national cake was shared” Mr Langat said.
As a result, the residents, with the support from leaders from the neighbouring Bomet County repeatedly petitioned through official and non-official channels to have the constituency created, with a sharp rise in population.
Lack of land title deeds with failure by the government to demarcate the properties formerly owned by Trusts has been the root cause of conflict between members of the Kipsigis and Maasai communities.
“Much as the residents have land which is identified as privately owned, they do not have legal ownership documents as the government is yet to issue them with title deeds” Mr Willy Korir, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) Kilgoris branch secretary, said.
Mr Korir said “Demarcation of land, issuance of land title deeds, and roll out of infrastructure development to open up the region to investments and establishment of health and education facilities were issues Mr Ng’eno was passionate about”
The constituency also falls under the Mara River Basin and the Maasai Mara Game Reserve, has not benefited from the proceeds from the Mara despite the Narok county government collecting billions of shillings annually from tourists.
The historical injustices are some of the issues that inspired Mr Ng’eno to go into politics in a bid to liberate the people from poverty and underdevelopment realized since independence.
Former Emurua Dikirr Member of Parliament the late Johana Ng'eno
Photo credit: File | Nation
Mr Ng’eno pursued Bachelor of Arts degree in International Law at Kyiv TSN University before returning to Kenya where he plunged into politics, contesting the Kilgoris parliamentary seat which he controversially lost to Gideon Konchella in 2007 general election.
It led to an agitation for the curving of a constituency to cater for members of the Kipsigis community who despite being the minority and sidelined in development, occupied a large area in Transmara region of the then Narok District.
After losing an election and being thirsty for knowledge, the MP enrolled in Mount Kenya University where he obtained a Bachelor of Law (LLB) degree and later a Master of Arts in International Law at University of Nairobi.
The pinnacle of his career was his admission to the bar in September 2025 after graduating from Kenya School of Law, becoming an advocate of the High Court of Kenya being sworn in by Chief Justice Martha Koome.
Between 2008 and 2012, he was appointed a director of the Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC), the only government position he ever served in.
Following the curving off of Emurua Dikirr constituency in the run up to the 2013 general election, Mr Ng’eno became the automatic parliamentary pick for the residents owing to the relentless fight for their rights in an area where the Kipsigis and Maasai communities had historically fought over land and cattle rustling even as they intermarried.
The MP was elected for three consecutive terms until his death on February 28, 2026 in the helicopter crash.
