Governor Kang'ata rejects report alleging his involvement in Ethiopian Airlines crash fraud

Murang’a Governor Irungu Kang’ata, has addressed accusations that his former Senate staff members were wrongly listed in a petition as relatives of those who perished in the March 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash.

The governor is currently under scrutiny for his involvement in the legal proceedings concerning compensation claims against Boeing, the American aircraft manufacturer, and the airline, following the tragic incident.

An exposé aired on NTV on Wednesday revealed that two of his ex-staff members from his Senate tenure between 2017 and 2022—Davis Mburu Karanja and Peter Njuguna—along with associates Jane Wairimu and John Kunyia, have made claims that suggest the governor is at the center of a fraudulent scheme.

They claim they cannot understand why the governor included their names in a petition purporting to be from families of those who perished in the crash, despite not having lost anyone in the tragedy.

On June 19, 2019, a petition was submitted to the Senate, urging the government to speed up the process of issuing death certificates so that the families of the deceased could pursue compensation.

The petition listed eight individuals as the next of kin for the deceased, but in truth, these individuals had neither lost any family members nor were they aware their names had been used in the petition.

Davis Mburu Karanja, the former coordinator for Maragua constituency, revealed that he discovered the petition by sheer chance.

Davis shared his experience, saying, "When we were searching for my name online, we were shocked to find it listed among the victims' families of the Ethiopian airline crash."

He continued, "One night, after hearing that the Ethiopian airline had made compensation payments, I decided to investigate further. I typed my name along with either my phone number or ID, and to my surprise, I found my name listed."

He further explained, "There's a petition related to the Ethiopian air crash where my name appears alongside colleagues from my time in the Senate. I am listed as someone who has been affected by the tragedy in some capacity."

However, on May 8, Kang'ata issued a statement denying any involvement and clarified the situation regarding compensation for the actual victims of the crash.

Kang'ata, a lawyerresponded by clarifying that all the victims he represented in the U.S. received their compensation, and there have been no complaints from them.

He emphasized that the eight individuals mentioned in the report were not compensated, noting that this issue dates back to 2019 and had been fully resolved. All compensation for his Kenyan clients, he affirmed, was properly settled.

He also rejected claims that the matter had provided any personal benefit to him or his former team. "My Senate discussions on the matter did not bring any advantage to me or the so-called staff.

I will continue to use my legal expertise to advocate for Kenyans both in the U.S. and globally," Kang'ata stated.

His comments were in response to an exposé by NTV, which uncovered an advertisement published by American lawyers in May 2019.

The ad sought to collaborate with Kenyan lawyers in a bid to secure compensation for Kenyan victims.