E-mail sparks row in Saitoti probe

The police on Tuesday clashed with Eurocopter SA, supplier of the helicopter that crashed killing Internal Security Minister George Saitoti and his deputy Orwa Ojodeh.

They disagreed over an e-mail that sanctioned the chopper to be flown despite a warning of a component malfunction.

The e-mail sparked heated argument between lawyer Evans Monari for the police and Eurocopter chief executive Fabrice Cagnat who was testifying before the commission investigating the June 10 crash.

Mr Cagnat explained that he was not the original writer of the e-mail, but got it from a separate company, which made the chopper’s engine.

The accident also claimed the lives of the ministers’ bodyguards and two pilots at Kibiku area in Ngong. (READ: Key Saitoti chopper parts ‘were replaced’)

Earlier, lawyers had objected to the Mr Cagnat’s presentation of a document indicating the company was allowed in 2007 to service its aircraft locally by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority.

Mr Cagnat said the indication of a mechanical failure in the aircraft was not a new phenomenon as the company experienced a similar concern on a separate aircraft in South Africa before the June 10 crash.

He said that on the strength of the e-mail exchanged between the helicopter’s engine manufacturer and one of his technicians, they allowed the police helicopter to fly and “would have flown for another 200 hours” before being attended to.

“We heard a similar situation which took place before this one and we were aware it was not a safety concern,” Mr Cagnat said.

However, Mr Monari while objecting to the acceptance of the e-mail as part of evidence in the proceedings, said the firm wanted to use the correspondence as a “scapegoat” to shift blame to the manufacturers of the chopper’s engine.

Mr Monari demanded that a witness from the engine manufacturer be questioned to say why it was safe to fly the aircraft despite the defect warning.

Furthermore, Mr Monari questioned why the document dated May 30, had a bearing on a concern that was to be raised later on July 8 when police pilots noticed the indication of a component failure.

“The e-mail is dated May 30 when there was no complaint of EDR failure. Can it be left out until the witnesses who wrote it own up to it?” the lawyer asserted.

Judge Kaplana Rawal ruled that the document having been presented by another witness, a Mr Aristide, would be admitted and asked Mr Monari to subject it to further cross examination. Hearing continues on Wednesday.