Irungu Kang’ata is now facing serious accusations that he defrauded families of six Kenyan victims who died in the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash. The allegations claim that Kang’ata, while serving as a senator, managed to fraudulently receive KSh 960 million which was meant for these grieving families. Instead of helping the victims’ relatives, Kang’ata is said to have listed fake names, including some of his former Senate staff who now serve as County Executive Committee Members in his government.
This shocking twist has angered the public, especially because the victims’ real families are still waiting for their rightful compensation of KSh 160 million each, money that Boeing had already released five years ago.The crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 was a tragedy that killed 157 people, including 34 Kenyans.
After admitting responsibility, Boeing set up a massive $500 million compensation fund to support the victims’ families. Each was supposed to receive around $1.2 million, and the process was supposed to begin in 2020. But it seems that Kang’ata saw an opportunity to exploit the situation.
According to a well-documented NTV investigation, Kang’ata submitted names of people who were not related to any of the crash victims, faked death certificates, and used these false identities to claim the money. Shockingly, some of the so-called relatives who allegedly died in the crash are alive and working in his administration today.
Public anger exploded further after a video posted on X by Dr. Austin Omondi showed Kang’ata laughing and saying he would blame President William Ruto if he ever got caught in the scandal. That clip has now become one of the most widely shared pieces of evidence in the growing outrage.
It paints Kang’ata as a man who has no remorse for his actions and is even proud of mocking the system while families remain in pain. It also exposes a deeper rot in the system where people in power feel untouchable even when playing with people’s grief.
Kang’ata has come out to deny all these claims, calling the NTV report false and politically motivated. He insists that all the real families he represented were paid and that none of the eight individuals mentioned in the exposé received money.
He also says the case was closed in 2019 and that this resurfacing is part of a political witch hunt. However, these denials have not cooled the fury on the ground. Many Kenyans are demanding answers, especially as more evidence suggests that the families of the six victims never received their money while others around Kang’ata grew rich.
The matter has now raised serious questions about whether compensation processes in Kenya are being handled fairly or being used by corrupt politicians for personal gain. The fact that such a sensitive matter involving death and loss could be manipulated for financial benefit has left many Kenyans disgusted.
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