NAIROBI, Kenya, May 17 – Long-serving pilot Captain Peter Maranga and Fredrick Kabunge from the Ministry of Transport have been appointed to co-chair an investigation team tasked with reviewing all preliminary accident reports involving Kenyan-registered or -operated aircraft, as submitted by South Sudan and Somalia over the past five years.
According to a gazette notice issued on Friday, the team will conduct interviews and engage with relevant industry stakeholders to establish facts and gather information in support of its mandate.
“In carrying out its mandate, the team may examine, evaluate, analyse, or test any information, data, material, or substance to validate any conclusions or assumptions made in the submitted reports,” reads the Gazette Notice dated March 27.
Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir stated that the seven-member team will serve for a period of three months.
Fredrick Aggrey Opot will serve as the vice-chairperson.
Other members of the team include Capt. Nduati Herman Njama, Rtd. Lt. Col. Mike Mulwa, Ephantus Kamau, Capt. Valentine Wendoh, and James Mwangi.
Brenda Mwango, Mathias Ombasa, and Albert Mwangeka have been named as the joint secretaries.
The team is expected to prepare and submit to the Cabinet Secretary a comprehensive report of its findings, along with recommendations to address any safety concerns identified, for appropriate action by Kenya’s aviation industry.
The establishment of the investigation team follows reports that a Kenyan pilot flying a cargo aircraft was killed in a Sudanese military airstrike.
His aircraft, a Boeing 727 under the control of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), was struck by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) on the morning of May 3, 2025, at Nyala Airport in South Darfur.
