Did a Chopper Carrying Raila Odinga Go Out of Control Trying to Access DCI Headquarters?

A tweet (archived here) contains a video of a chopper spinning out of control and nearly crash landing. Part of the tweet says “Raila Odinga trying to access DCI today.” 

Background

On March 7, 2023, former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i appeared at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters after being summoned to record a statement following the alleged raid on his Karen home on February 8, 2023. The government, through a statement issued by Interior CS, Kithure Kindiki, denied allegations of the raid.

The DCI later issued a summon requiring Matiang’i to record a statement. Matiang’i on March 7,2023 appeared before the DCI for questioning. While there, Raila Odinga arrived at the DCI headquarters in solidarity with the former CS but was barred from entering.

Verification

After fragmenting the video into key frames and doing a reverse search, the search leads to this page, containing the same image. The link in the page redirects to a Russian vlog where the video plays at 6:41. Further search leads to this YouTube video which hints that the helicopter is Bolivian AirForce EC 145. The video places the location in Colquiri, Bolivia. The video also states that the Helicopter was carrying Bolivian President Evo Morales, at the time. 

A search on Google leads to this November 2019 article that reports on the incident, with a video of the same aircraft but from a different angle. The fin of the helicopter is also painted with the colours of the Bolivian Flag, with the tail number FAB-007, where FAB stands for Fuerza Aérea Boliviana (Spanish for Bolivian Air Force).

Verdict

The video in the tweet is NOT from Kenya or of Raila trying to access the DCI headquarters. 

This fact-check was edited by Piga Firimbi Fact-Checking Editor Linda Ngari.

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