'Our choppers are just for politicians!' Anger at gov't as private organisations fly in to save Kenyans from floods

Notable too, is the fact that the people conducting these rescue missions are private persons and not public servants who draw a salary for such roles from the government.

Kenyan politicians are always seen hopping out of military helicopters on a daily basis as they tour the country to inspect government projects or even during their own private ceremonies like homecoming parties. But come emergencies and these choppers are nowhere to be seen.

On Friday, a pregnant woman who required an emergency operation was rescued by a chopper provided by the Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT) and Lewa Wildlife Conservancy. This was after her ambulance got stuck at Kulamawe area due to a heavy downpour.

The previous day on November 2nd, for instance, eight people were rescued from the early morning flash floods that swept away a lorry in Samburu East.

The eight were rescued by a chopper from Olmalo ranch, after the lorry they were travelling in got swept away by floods.

According to police, the driver of the lorry lost control of the vehicle as he attempted to cross Lerata river prompting a chopper from the nearby Olmalo ranch to swing to the crew’s rescue.

And back in May, in yet another daring rescue operation, pilots from Sheldrick Wildlife Trust saved a driver from flood waters after his fuel tanker was washed away while crossing the Galana-Kulalu causeway.

According to witnesses, the driver had been stranded in his vehicle for hours when the river unexpectedly flooded and surrounded the tanker.

In response to the emergency, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust pilots quickly mobilized and flew to the scene in a helicopter and, despite the challenging conditions, the pilots managed to manoeuvre the aircraft to hover over the stranded driver, lowering it as close as possible to allow him to climb aboard.

This was not so long after the same body was involved in the heroic rescue of a child who had been lost in the Tsavo National Park for six days.

These rescue missions, which are widely celebrated in the media and across the internet, have brought to sharp focus the glaring absence of government authorities in all of the endeavours.

Rarely are the choppers used in some of these daunting tasks affiliated with the Police, the Military or even powerful government heads or officials.

While making the observation on X (formerly Twitter), one user said, "This is a second or third time a private individual has rescued Kenyans with his own chopper... Zetu ni zakupeleka govt officers' kids to Mombasa or maternity?"

Many seemed to agree with the sentiment with one person saying; "Because the system was not designed to help the masses but those in power and after independence tulifuata nyayo!"

Another said, "Meanwhile, El Nino funds were released. What happened to that? Our government choppers are used to ferry politicians to funerals to go brag about how they've made money in parliament. As Kenyans die in the floods, we are at the mercy of Wazungus running resorts!"

One observer even went ahead and offered a more poignant thought, saying, "If you look closely, you will realise that these rescue missions are almost always carried out by white people! And we are here calling out King Charles for colonising Kenya! At this point, we should be the ones apologising to the Britons!"

Back in 2015, Kenyans were infuriated by the senseless seven-hour delay between the time authorities learned of a deadly attack by gunmen at Garissa University College and when police commandoes finally arrived at the scene.

Despite the fact that authorities were informed of the assault just before dawn where four militants killed 148 people, it would take seven hours people the chopper supposed to be ferrying the police commandos to arrive.

The plane at the centre of the controversy was a Cessna 208B aircraft, which eventually flew the police commando unit to Garissa - as bloodied bodies lay sprawled on the floor. 

Following press reports that the chopper was being used for private purposes on 2 April, the then police air-wing chief, Rogers Mbithi, claimed the plane had been dispatched to the coast on a training mission but admitted that on its return, it had stopped to pick up his relatives in the coastal resort of Mombasa and take them to Nairobi.

"There is nothing to hide. It came back with my daughter-in-law and two small children. I took full responsibility and explained that,” Mbithi told the Daily Nation then.