Kitutu Chache MP Momoima Onyonka who is a cousin to Deputy President William Ruto’s Pilot, Captain Mario Magonga said the family was Monday morning headed for Wilson Airport to receive the body of the captain.
In a Tweet, the National Police Service said the cause of the incident is yet to be established and the details of the deceased will be released once the next of kin have been notified.
The pilot of Deputy President William Ruto perished alongside four Americans in a plane crash that happened in Turkana County.
All the five passengers perished.
There are conflicting reports on the exact time the crash happened as helicopters are not allowed to fly at night unless fitted with the right instruments.
Officials said the Captain Mario Magonga was Ruto’s official pilot and was the pilot of the chopper.
The passengers are believed to be tourists and had visited Lobolo Tented camp on the island’s national park.
The tourist group had two choppers and one managed to clear from the ground and flew to Nairobi. As the second one tried to clear, it crashed killing all five on board, witnesses said.
Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officials rushed to the scene minutes later and confirmed the incident.
The bodies and wreckage of the plane were left at the site until Monday morning as plans were being made to fly them back to Nairobi.
It is not clear what caused the accident. But experts were sent to the scene to investigate it.
The Central Island National Park is described as “The Gem of Lake Turkana”. The park is managed by KWS and made up of three crater lakes – Crocodile lake, Flamingo lake and Tilapia lake. “The islands are home to hippo, bats and the largest Nile crocodile population,” reads the KWS website.
The island also boasts over 350 recorded bird species including large flocks of flamingos. A major attraction is the crocodiles which breed on the shored of the island’s crater lakes between April and May.
Access to the Park is normally by air. There are two all-weather airstrips that visitors use. By road, it takes three days from Nairobi via Marsabit and North Horr or Maralal and South Horr.