Elders from the Kipsigis community held special prayers aimed at averting future disasters similar to the helicopter crash that claimed the lives of Emurua Dikirr Member of Parliament Johana Ngeno and five others last Saturday.
The crash came 18 years after a similar incident that killed former Roads Minister Kipkalya Kones, former assistant Minister Lornah Laboso and their aides in the Kojonga area of Narok County.
Former Eastern Provincial Commissioner Ishmael Chelanga and Johna Kenduiywo, the deputy regional criminal investigations officer – both from Rift Valley – died in a plane crash in Marsabit County on July 7, 1996, along with seven others while on a security mission.
As a matter of coincidence or fate, the elected leaders who have perished in the crashes are from Bomet and Narok counties in the South Rift region, which raised serious concern among the residents of the area.
Victims of the February 28, 2026 helicopter crash at Chepkiep village, Mosop constituency, Nandi County are – MP Ngeno, George Were (pilot), Nick Kosgei (photojournalist), Amos Kipngetich Rotich (officer with the Kenya Forests Service), Carlos Robert Kibet Keter (teacher) and Wycliff Kiprotich Rono (protocol officer at Narok County government.
The elders revealed that a major traditional cleansing ceremony will be organised on a date to be announced after the funeral, for both past and recent tragedies that claimed leaders from the Rift Valley.
“If the traditional rites are not conducted at the scene of the crash, there is a possibility of two similar incidents occurring following the uprooting of two trees by the wreckage of the helicopter on Saturday,” An elder said in Dikirr on Wednesday.
At the same time, in keeping with Kalenjin traditions and culture, Ngeno's body will stay in his house overnight on Thursday, ahead of the burial on Friday.
“It is a fusion of both the traditional and biblical prayers befitting the circumstances under which the MP and the other five died, with their bodies burnt as a result,” Mr Richard Ngeno, the Myoot Council of Elders chairman, said.
Woman Representatives Beatrice Kemei (Kericho) and Cynthia Muge, Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago and President's Economic Advisor Dr Augustine Cheruiyot at Emurua Dikirr Technical Training Institute grounds, waiting for the bodies of area MP Johana Ngeno and four other chopper crash victims on March 5,2026.
Photo credit: Vitalis Kimutai | Nation Media Group
It coincided with the requiem mass for the victims in Nairobi that was attended by family members, Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, speakers Moses Wetangula (National Assembly) and Amason Kingi (Senate), Cabinet secretaries, Members of Parliament, among others.
“It is common for us to offer prayers and retreat to our traditional rites, including going to the river to offer sacrifices, which will come when all these have settled after families have buried their loved ones,” Mzee Ngeno told Nation in an interview on the sidelines of the meeting.
Mr Ngeno said members of the Kalenjin community were concerned that in the last 18 years, three members of Parliament had died in helicopter tragedies, with Kipkalya and Lornah Laboso perishing in a crash in Kojonga, Narok County, on June 10, 2008.
Bodies of the MP and the four others from the area will be buried on Friday and Saturday, according to the planning committee members.
After the joint requiem mass set for Dikirr Primary School on Thursday, the body of the MP will then be moved to his home at the nearby Mogondo village for the night vigil as that of Wycliff Rono stays overnight at his Judeah village home in Elkerin Ward in the constituency. Both will be buried on Friday.
“The body of a man who was married stays in the house overnight with a burning lantern placed on the head of the coffin. The fire will burn until when the body has been interred,” Mzee Pius Kipterer Langat from Dikirr, said.
Members of the Bunge Fellowship Choir sing at the Africa Gospel Church in Karen, Nairobi on March 4, 2026, during the requiem mass of Emurua Dikirr MP Johana Ng'eno and five others who perished in a helicopter crash in Nandi County on February 28, 2026.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group
He said, “The unmarried ones are placed in the house for one or two hours, then removed for burial. They cannot lie overnight in the house.”
Narok Deputy Governor Tamalinye Koech revealed that three of the victims –Amos, Nixon and Carlos – were not married yet and as such, after the viewing of their bodies on Thursday at Dikirr Primary School, the bodies will be taken to the mortuary ahead of burial on Friday.
“We want to make it clear that the bodies of the two sons of this community - Amos and Carlos (who were not married) will be taken to Kilgoris sub-County Hospital mortuary until Friday when they will be buried,” Mr Koech said on Wednesday at the home of Ngeno.
The body of Nick Kosgei (who was also single) will be taken to Tenwek Hospital mortuary in Bomet ahead of the burial on Saturday.
Explaining the culture, elders said bodies of women and men who have children but are unmarried can stay overnight in their homes, same as unmarried men who had children.
Mzee Ngeno stated, “In essence, the night vigil allows the family to have final conduct with the body and spirits of the departed, make amends if there were wrongs in the course of their lives.”
“The burning lantern represents the continuity of the family tree for the loved ones. It means that along the line, the lineage will continue for the next generation,” Mzee Ngeno said.
After the burial, the families will remain in mourning for a year before the process to share the property is made open, whether there was a will in place or not.
“After one year, the pinnacle of a traditional hut in the compound of the departed will be removed and for a modern structure, one or two iron sheets is removed, and the painting renewed to signify that the head of the family is dead,” Mzee Ngeno said.
Lawmakers Richard Yegon (Bomet Central), Francis Sigei (Sotik), Richard Kilel (Bomet Central), Brighton Yegon (Konoin) and Bomet Woman Representative Linet Chepkorir said it was unfortunate that several prominent Kaleinjin leaders had perished in plane crashes,
“Our vocal, prominent and respected elected leaders have had two major tragedies while flying within Rift Valley region, in what requires us moving forward to be cautious, and avoid local flights in bad weather,” said Mr Yegon, a former manager at the Ethiopian Airlines.
The MPs called for respect and decorum during the requiem mass and funeral service for the fallen sons of the region and urged fellow leaders and their supporters to put aside their differences in the next three days.
