Emurua Dikirr Member of Parliament Johana Ng'eno, who died a week ago in a helicopter crash in Mosop rarely travelled with his officially assigned bodyguards.
It has now emerged that the MP who was buried last Friday also had nearly 10 personal assistants (PAs) who variously served him in the constituency and other regions, particularly across the Rift Valley, handling both his official and personal affairs.
Mr Ngeno, popularly known as Ngong, preferred moving around with close friends who often doubled up as unofficial aides, a style that demystified the powerful office he held. This stood in stark contrast to many of his colleagues who are known to move around with a retinue of bodyguards and assistants.
Interviews with his constituents and close friends revealed that the MP often drove himself around and would sometimes randomly pick one of his friends or supporters to drive him for the day, depending on where he was headed.
The other victims of the fatal crash were pilot George Were, Nick Koskei, his official photographer, Amos Kipngetich Rotich, an officer with the Kenya Forest Service, Carlos Keter, a teacher and Wycliff Kiprotich Rono, a protocol officer at the Narok County Government.
In a previous interview with the Daily Nation, Mr Ngeno said he saw little need for bodyguards around him, insisting that he had nothing to fear.
“What do I need protection from? I have not stolen anything from anyone in this country. And in any event, if harm is meant to come your way, it will come at the most unexpected hour,” Mr Ngeno once said.
Even on the day of the ill-fated helicopter flight, the MP reportedly asked his official bodyguard to disembark from the aircraft allowing a resident to take the seat. The resident later died alongside him in the crash.
The fiery politician often shunned officialdom and freely interacted with members of the public arriving at functions without the elaborate entourage that typically accompanies political leaders.
Emurua Dikirr Member of Parliament Johana Ng'eno
Photo credit: File | Nation
Mr Geoffrey Bett, popularly known as Gechwo and a close friend of the MP, said that although Mr Ngeno had been assigned up to four police bodyguards, he rarely travelled with them to either public or private functions.
“For the 14 years that he served as MP, there were very few occasions when he was seen with a bodyguard. He would always brush off the idea of being accompanied by security officers,” Mr Bett revealed.
According to Bett, the legislator often encouraged his security personnel to spend more time with their families.
“Most of the time, he asked his bodyguards and drivers to stay at home with their families and attend to them. He repeatedly said they needed to take care of their loved ones even while on duty,” Bett said.
Mr Bett, an employee at the Narok County Government, was supposed to travel with the MP to Trans Nzoia County on the ill-fated helicopter flight.
However, he arrived five minutes late at the Mara Rianta area in Mara Ward, Narok West Constituency where he was to be picked up by the aircraft.
“Most politicians and prominent persons rely on bodyguards to push people around and for protection but Ngeno was different. He was a man of the people who preferred interacting freely with ordinary citizens,” Bett said.
Members of Parliament are entitled to at least one police bodyguard, although the number of security personnel may vary depending on risk levels and seniority.
As the chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Housing, Mr Ngeno was entitled to a sizeable security detail, often comparable to that of Cabinet Secretaries due to the sensitive nature of the docket.
However, a fellow MP from Nakuru County said that whenever he encountered Ngeno at public functions in the Rift Valley or Nairobi, he was usually in the company of friends rather than security officers.
“I once got concerned and asked him why he never preferred to be accompanied by his security detail. He jokingly told me that it was God who protects people. I nevertheless encouraged him to move around with his security,” said the MP, who sought anonymity.
Mr Ngeno also had officially assigned drivers but they were rarely on duty as he often picked friends to drive him on different occasions.
“Ngong, as he was fondly known, would go to Bomet town, for instance, randomly pick a friend and ask them to drive him for a week or two. He could then travel to Kericho, leave the friend there, pick another in the same town and make them his designated driver. That was how different he was compared with other MPs,” Mr Bett said.
Former Emurua Dikirr Member of Parliament the late Johana Ng'eno
Photo credit: File | Nation
It has also emerged that the legislator worked with about 10 people who served him as personal assistants in different capacities. Mr Bernard Ngeno (no relation to the MP) coordinated constituency affairs.
“Mr Ngeno has left us orphaned as a constituency, family and friends. We are still struggling to come to terms with the reality that he is no more,” Bernard told mourners at the MP’s home in Mogondo Village in Dikirr.
“There is nobody who can articulate the issues of Narok County and Emurua Dikirr better than Ngeno. He united people from diverse communities, especially the Maasai, Kipsigis and the larger Kalenjin community,” he added.
The fallen MP had built a vast network of friends across the region many of whom he occasionally sent to represent him at functions in his rural home and across the Rift Valley.
“Wherever he went, he had close friends who would act as personal assistants depending on the occasion. They all understood him well because he was always clear about where he was going, what he was doing and the end goal,” said Ms Rose Kositany, an aide to the MP.
“Ngeno was very clear about his issues and demanded the best from his communication team.He would take exception whenever members of his team appeared not to take their work seriously. He always reviewed the footage and edited versions of what was released to the public,” she said.
Despite the demanding nature of his work, those who worked with him say he remained approachable and warm.
“Ngeno was friendly, enjoyed a good laugh and often swapped stories with those working under him. He ate with them freely and was not a man who insisted on five-star hotels he could take his meals or drinks anywhere,” Kositany said.
Mr Amos Bett Kattam, one of his unofficial aides, described him as a unique leader who remained loyal to his friends.
“Ngeno was a very unique leader who never abandoned his friends. He believed in empowering both the people he knew and those he did not. He strongly believed in equality and often entrusted his close friends with his plans and ambitions. But even with the simplicity he carried himself with, he was not careless about his security or responsibilities,” he added.
In the villages, the MP was also known for occasionally giving helicopter rides to ordinary residents, encouraging them to believe that it was possible to rise and achieve greater heights in society.
Many times, he was photographed dancing with the youth or listening attentively to the elderly, gestures that endeared him to many and set him apart from other legislators.
