A helicopter ferrying Deputy President William Ruto to Baringo lost direction and for hours he was stranded in Kapedo area as a rescue team was sent to airlift him.
According to security sources, the pilot, only identified as Stefan from South Africa, had picked the Deputy President from Kericho to attend three functions in Baringo and was to land at Tangulbei but instead overshot and ran out of fuel.
The chopper, after going round for some time in Kapedo as the pilot searched for Tangulbei, ran out of fuel and had to land at Tangulbei.
“The pilot got lost because he did not know the landing place and after cycling for some time trying to locate Tangulbei in vain and with fuel getting low, he had to land at Kapedo at the foot of Silale Hills,” said an officer on condition of anonymity.
The source said after landing, Ruto and his team called for rescue from other pilots who had landed at Tangulbei earlier with other dignitaries. Another helicopter was dispatched to pick the Deputy President.
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The pilot had to carry 50 litres fuel to enable the stranded helicopter make a journey to Kampi Samaki in Lake Baringo where helicopters usually fuel.
“The DP was finally picked by a rescue helicopter as his pilot went to refuel before finally flying to Tangulbei,” said the security officer.
Following the incident, the rally which was to begin at 9am began at 11am. Kapedo is a volatile area where more than 20 police officers were killed in May last year by cattle rustlers. The officers were tracking cattle rustlers from Pokot.
