{"id":133276,"date":"2026-03-06T09:02:59","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T09:02:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/gachagua-skips-johanna-ngeno-funeral-blasts-tormentors-shedding-crocodile-tears\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T09:02:59","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T09:02:59","slug":"gachagua-skips-johanna-ngeno-funeral-blasts-tormentors-shedding-crocodile-tears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/gachagua-skips-johanna-ngeno-funeral-blasts-tormentors-shedding-crocodile-tears\/","title":{"rendered":"Gachagua skips Johanna Ng\u2019eno funeral, blasts \u2018tormentors shedding crocodile tears\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 6 \u2014 Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has announced he will not attend the funeral of the late Emurua Dikirr MP Johanna Ng\u2019eno, citing political hypocrisy and accusing those he describes as Ng\u2019eno\u2019s tormentors of \u201cshedding crocodile tears.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a pointed tribute released ahead of the burial, Gachagua accused unnamed political rivals of persecuting Ng\u2019eno throughout his life, only to now pretend to mourn him following his tragic death in a helicopter crash in Chepkiep, Mosop Constituency, Nandi County.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour tormentors who hunted you like an antelope are now shamelessly shedding crocodile tears,\u201d Gachagua said on Friday. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey persecuted you in life and now pretend to love you in death. I will not sit with them as they feign sorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ng\u2019eno died alongside five others on Saturday after the Eurocopter AS350 helicopter, registration 5Y-DSB, crashed shortly after departing Tabolwa airstrip. <\/p>\n

The day had seen the MP travel across Narok, Trans Nzoia, and Uasin Gishu counties, engaging in community activities including rescue operations for flood victims.<\/p>\n

\n\u2018Your tormentors are shedding crocodile tears\u2019: Gachagua\u2019s fiery tribute to Ng\u2019eno<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

Among the victims were Ng\u2019eno, retired Colonel George Were who piloted the aircraft, forest ranger Amos Kimwetich Rotich, the MP\u2019s cameraman Nicholas Kosgei, teacher Robert Kipkoech Keter, and Narok County protocol officer Wycliffe Kiprotich Rono.<\/p>\n

Crash probe <\/h2>\n

A postmortem conducted by government pathologist Johansen Oduor confirmed all six died from multiple traumatic injuries and severe burns sustained in the crash, clearing the way for burial arrangements as investigations by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Department (AAID) continue. <\/p>\n

The AAID is working under international aviation standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization, and a preliminary report is expected within 30 days.<\/p>\n

But Gachagua\u2019s tribute focused less on the crash and more on the political battles Ng\u2019eno endured, portraying him as a fearless advocate for the Kipsigis community.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe taught me to be unashamed of defending the interests of one\u2019s community. Who doesn\u2019t have an origin?\u201d Gachagua said. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe remained unbowed in standing for his people despite isolation and humiliation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gachagua recalled instances when Ng\u2019eno was physically denied access to State House Nairobi by powerful figures and when attempts were made to block him from becoming chairman of the National Assembly\u2019s Housing Committee. <\/p>\n

The former deputy president said he personally intervened on several occasions to shield Ng\u2019eno from further humiliation.<\/p>\n

Ng\u2019eno leaves behind a young family and supporters across Emurua Dikirr and the wider Kipsigis community. <\/p>\n

Gachagua urged them to remain strong despite the loss of what he called a political kingpin.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 6 \u2014 Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has announced he will not attend the funeral of the late Emurua Dikirr MP Johanna Ng\u2019eno, citing political hypocrisy and accusing those he describes as Ng\u2019eno\u2019s tormentors of \u201cshedding crocodile tears.\u201d In a pointed tribute released ahead of the burial, Gachagua accused unnamed political rivals […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-133276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133276"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133276\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}