Man who claimed to witness separate accidents held for impersonation

The "serial witness" who claimed to have seen the Lake Nakuru chopper crash and the road accident that killed Nyeri Governor Wahome Gakuru happen has been arrested.

Dennis Ngengi Muigai alias Andrew Kirangi alias Henry is being held at Juja Police Station for impersonating a police and military intelligence officer.

In his trademark dark glasses, Muigai first appeared a day after a helicopter crash killed five people in Lake Nakuru posing as a 'state pilot'. Dennis would tell a television crew that he was a friend and colleague of the pilot of the ill-fated helicopter, Captain Apollo Malowa. Malowa died in the crash and was buried on Saturday.

Sixteen days later, Dennis said he witnessed the accident that claimed the life of the Nyeri Governor and left his driver and bodyguard wounded.

"I was on my way to Nairobi from Nyeri when the accident happened," he recounted on live television.

Dennis proceeded to dismiss the initial report by the police that the accident had been caused by a tire burst. He claimed that the driver rammed on the guard rails as he tried avoid hitting a motorcyclist adding that he even spoke to late governor at the scene of accident.

What followed was a social media frenzy that tried to unmask his real identity or whether it was a coincidence. An inquest that placed him on police radar.

"It is said that there is an individual who appeared in both accident scenes. It is claimed that he is a police officer. I will find out if it is true he is an officer or not. If yes, then I will be interested in knowing what he was doing at those two scenes," said Inspector General of police, Joseph Boinnet.