Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) Secretary-General Francis Atwoli has dismissed viral social media claims suggesting he narrowly escaped the helicopter crash near Mt Ololokwe in Samburu County that killed all seven people on board on August 19, 2026.

“Please disregard all these lazy and fake stories from these social media addicts, idle doomscrollers and master spreaders of misinformation and fake news,” Atwoli wrote on his social media platforms, denying any connection to the ill-fated flight.

The claims alleged that Atwoli had personally invited Ecuador’s intelligence chief Michele Sensi-Contugi to Kenya and had been expected to join the tourists on the flight before changing his plans at the last minute.

The posts further claimed that he was on his way to his Kilifi home for dinner when he received a call to attend a crisis meeting at his Upper Hill office.

No evidence was presented in any of the posts to support the claims that Atwoli was scheduled to be on the helicopter or that he had invited any of the passengers to the country.

The claims were, however, complicated by a photograph Atwoli himself shared on his social media timeline on the day of the crash, captioned “With my two term enthusiasts as we prepare to fly. God Bless,” showing him with other individuals apparently aboard an aircraft.

His location and the exact timing of the photograph could not be independently confirmed.

The helicopter, a Eurocopter EC130 B4, crashed at approximately 9.13am while flying from Loisaba Conservancy to the Ewaso Nyiro area in Samburu County.

All seven people on board, six passengers and the pilot, perished in the crash.

Five of the victims were American nationals.

Among those killed were Ecuador’s intelligence chief Michele Sensi-Contugi and his wife Stephany Hollihan, Telemundo executive José Alberto Suárez, and Miami entrepreneur Roger Edward Duarte.

Investigations into the cause of the crash are ongoing.