Baringo deputy governor Charles Kipngok dies aboard Kenya Airways flight
Charles Kipngok (right), the Baringo deputy governor. He collapsed and died on September 14, 2022, aboard a Kenya Airways flight en route to Mombasa. PHOTO | NMG
Baringo County Deputy Governor Charles Kipng'ok is dead.
Kipng'ok died on Wednesday evening aboard a Kenya Airways aircraft minutes before it took off for Mombasa, where he was expected to join other county bosses for the Council of Governors induction.
Speaking to the media at Lee Funeral home in Nairobi, Baringo County Governor Benjamin Cheboi confirmed his deputy's demise, adding that they could not immediately confirm the cause of the death.
Mr Cheboi acknowledged Dr Patrick Amoth, acting Director General for Health who was also a passenger on the flight, as among the doctors who tried to resuscitate Kipngok but to no avail.
“It is a loss to us. We were just preparing to start the business of building our great county of Baringo,” Mr Cheboi said.
Kipng'ok was a former chairperson of the Kenya Tea Growers Association.
President William Ruto sent his message of condolence to the family, terming the first-term county leader as an amiable, astute and highly accomplished public servant and captain of industry with an enviable track record of success in the tea sub-sector.
"The sudden death of my friend Charles Kipng'ok is a big blow not only to his family, friends, Government and residents of Baringo County but to the entire country, especially the tea sub-sector where he excelled for decades before recently opting for elective politics," Dr Ruto said.
The President added: "It is extremely unfortunate that the unforgiving hand of death has robbed our country of Hon Kipng'ok at the start of his term as Deputy Governor, a role that would have enabled him to contribute to the transformation of Baringo County."
An alumnus of the University of Eastern Africa, Baraton, Kipng'ok started out as a management trainee at KTDA, rising over the years to become the CEO of Kiptagich and Kaisugu tea factories.
Third case
On Wednesday, the national carrier KQ confirmed that a passenger who developed breathing difficulties while boarding one of its flights had died.
In a statement, KQ said the passenger was pronounced dead at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) while the aircraft headed for Mombasa was still on the ground.
“Kenya Airways Plc regrets to announce that a passenger developed breathing difficulties this evening while boarding KQ612 that was scheduled to depart for Mombasa at 1900hours.
“The passenger was pronounced dead by medical personnel at JKIA while the aircraft was still on ground,” KQ said in a statement.
This is the third case over the past four weeks.
The carrier had earlier this month confirmed that a passenger aboard one of its flights to New York from Nairobi had passed away, the second such incident to be reported in a span of nine days.
Last month, it reported another incident where a passenger died aboard one of its flights from New York to Nairobi.
According to the airline, the passenger developed breathing difficulties seven hours after the plane had taken off from New York before he died. A family spokesman said he had a history of diabetes.
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