A new audit has once again exposed the sorry state of police helicopters at the National Police Service Air Wing, located within Wilson Airport.
The audit of the systems, policies, procedures and practices of the National Police Service (NPS), by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission(EACC), that seeks to, among other things, enhance service delivery and restructure Kenya’s police operations, has returned a shocking verdict.
The police helicopter that crashed in Ngong Forest on June 10, 2012 parked at Wilson Airport, Nairobi.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
According to the audit released last week on Thursday, at the National Police Leadership Academy in Nairobi, only two police aircraft out of 11 are functional.
The audit has revealed that most of the aircraft are mere shells, having been grounded years ago.
“The situation has undermined the effectiveness, cost-efficiency and operational responsiveness of the NPS Air Wing, thereby diminishing its contribution to national security and public safety,” further reads the report.
The unit was conceived as a rapid response outfit in times of emergencies. The functions of the NPS Air Wing include: search and rescue, casualty evacuation, anti-terrorism, crime prevention, air patrols and protection of VIPs.
In a shocking incident on November 3,a police chopper conducting a landslide rescue mission in Chesongoch, Marakwet East, made a hard landing when its lift reportedly failed as it was taking off.
The new helicopter handed over to the National Police Service on April 27, 2016. The Interior ministry is in the spotlight for buying four police aircrafts without the approval of Parliament. PHOTO | FILE| NATION MEDIA GROUP
The Mi-17 helicopter registered as 5Y SFA, was taking part in rescue operations in the landslide-hit region when it appeared to lose lift before bouncing on the ground.
Operational police aircraft
The same helicopter had in November 2019 crash-landed after taking off from Wilson Airport.
The back-to-back incidents sparked a debate about maintenance standards and operational safety within the NPS Air Wing, especially concerning the Mi-17 series helicopters acquired from Russia in 2017.
Delivered by Russian Helicopters, a subsidiary of Rostec, the Mi-17V-5 utility model was part of a government initiative to modernise police air operations for missions, including search and rescue, troop transport and logistics.
“The government should urgently do an overhaul of police choppers. The safety of police officers and the quality of mechanised transport should not be compromised. Revelations that only two choppers are operational are worrying. Failure to service and properly maintain police aircraft is a looming disaster,” warned Mr David Mwangi, an aviation expert.
A police officer inspects the scene of the crash. The chopper crash-landed in Kaithe, Meru County on Saturday morning.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
“Even the two functional choppers are a disaster in waiting,” he added.
During the certification event, Deputy Inspector-General Eliud Lagat hailed the milestone as a historic achievement, while the Air Wing Commandant, Captain James Kabo, said the unit aimed to become a regional leader in aviation excellence.
However, the recent incidents in Chesongoch and Mulot and the revelations by the audit report have cast doubt on those gains, reviving concerns over the condition of the service’s initially operational helicopters, the majority of which are grounded for mechanical issues.
These were just the latest of a series of mishaps that have been dogging the NPS choppers.
The most notable include: the 2016 crash of a Kenya Police Augusta-AW 139 helicopter in Nairobi that injured three police officers, an August 2018 crash of a newly launched MI-17 helicopter in Boni Forest, and several other minor accidents that raised concerns about operational safety and financial oversight within the service.
This is one of the most high-profile plane crashes in Kenya's history.
The NPS Air Wing was returned to police control in 2024 after three years under the KDF-led National Air Support Department (NASD)-a transfer initially made by former President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2017-to address mismanagement and safety lapses.
