- Environment PS Festus Ng'eno was among passengers on a Kenya Forest Service helicopter that crashed at Kericho Golf Club on Monday, October 12
- Even as rescue teams responded to the scene, Kenyans noticed his verified Facebook page had gone live streaming President Ruto's event in Uasin Gishu
- The strange timing sparked a wave of confusion online, with many asking whether Ng'eno was truly on board the downed chopper
Kenyans on social media were thrown into a spin on Monday after the verified Facebook account of Environment Principal Secretary Festus K. Ng'eno appeared to broadcast President William Ruto's North Rift development tour in real time, even as confirmed reports placed the PS among those injured in a helicopter crash in Kericho.
Source: Facebook
A Kenya Forest Service helicopter, registration 5Y-FSK, came down at the Kericho Golf Club on the afternoon of Monday, October 12, during a bout of heavy rainfall in the region.
Kericho County Police Commander Kivindu Kilonzo said no fatalities were recorded, though several people on board sustained injuries and were transferred to South Rift Hospital.
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Witnesses described the aircraft losing altitude shortly after takeoff, before crashing onto the grounds. Images circulating online showed the green and white chopper lying on its side in a grassy field, its tail section completely detached.
Who was Running Ng'eno's Facebook page?
While emergency responders were still at the scene, Kenyans watching the PS's Facebook page were surprised to find it streaming live footage of Ruto's commissioning of the Kenya School of TVET Moiben Campus in Uasin Gishu County.
The project falls under the broad skills and environmental training portfolio, making it relevant to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.
The explanation, however, is straightforward. Senior government officials rarely manage their own social media pages.
Communications officers and digital media teams typically hold admin access to these accounts, scheduling posts and livestreams in advance.
Ng'eno's team had most likely arranged coverage of Ruto's North Rift tour as part of the ministry's support for the presidential programme. When the crash happened around midday, the automated stream simply continued as planned, with no one at the scene to pull it down.
Ruto's tour, which kicked off in Nandi and Uasin Gishu on Monday, is a 10-day development sweep covering six counties ahead of Mashujaa Day celebrations in Eldoret on October 20.
A worrying trend of aviation incidents
The Kericho crash is not the first time a government aviation accident has triggered social media confusion. In February 2026, Emurua Dikirr MP Johana Ng'eno died in a separate chopper crash in Mosop, Nandi County, that claimed six lives.
His social media pages continued to post content for hours after his death because of content that had been scheduled in advance.
By Monday evening, KFS confirmed that all occupants of the Kericho helicopter had escaped, either without injury or with non-fatal wounds, putting to rest fears that the PS had not survived. Investigations into the cause of the crash remain ongoing, with poor visibility and heavy rain cited as contributing factors.
The incident is part of a broader wave of aviation accidents in 2026, which has included an August crash involving a Eurocopter EC130 at Mount Ololokwe that killed seven people, among them Ecuador's intelligence chief.
Source: TUKO.co.ke