Top 10 Private Plane Owners in Kenya

Piece by: Kwarula Otieno
Lifestyle

As you save up for that brand new Kawasaki motorbike or maybe be the latest model of Range Rover, there's someone here in Kenya who is scrolling through The Private Jet Company website looking for the latest Bombardier Challenger jet. 

A research carried out last year showed that the number of registered aircrafts has grown by 32 percent from 5 years ago when there were only 958 registered planes in Kenya.

However, Nigeria still remains one of the fastest-growing luxury jet homes in the world, spending over $6.5 billion dollars on private plane by March last year.

Most of the people who dominate Kenyan skies include wealthy businesspersons, politicians, large-scale farmers and ranchers based in areas like Nanyuki, Kitale, Laikipia and Narok.

Below are some of the flying millionaires is Kenya;

1. Ephraim Maina - The former Mathira Constituency Member of Parliament is also the owner of Kirinyaga Construction Limited which was known during the Moi era. He owns a Bell 206B (4638) helicopter registration number 5Y-MNW. It was manufactured in 2006.

2. Peter Kenneth- The former Gatanga legislator and 2012 Presidential candidate also prefers to fly in his expensive bird.

3. John Harun Mwau - The former Kilome Constituency Member of parliament as well as the founding chairman of Party of Independent Candidates of Kenya is a wealthy businessman who has been linked to alleged drug trafficking scandals, but was later acquitted after investigations ruled him out as one of the Kenyan drug lords.

4. William Kabogo - The rich Kiambu governor has been seen on several occasions flying his Eurocopter AS350B3.

5. Simeon Nyachae - The ex-minister is considered one of the rich people in Kenya. He also owns a majority shareholding in several banks in the country. The Former Cabinet owns two helicopters, a Eurocopter AS350B2 and a Eurocopter AS350B3.

6. Nicholas Biwott - He is a businessman, politician, and philanthropist. He was once listed as one of the richest people in Africa, with a net worth of $1 Billion. Biwott owns a private jet.

7. Gideon Moi - He's the son of former President Daniel Arap Moi. It estimated that he was worth some £550 million as of 2002. He allegedly owns three helicopters under the company Sicham Aviation, two six-seater Eurocopters AS350B2 and a two-seater Schweizer model 300C

8. Musa Gurian -He's one of the biggest miraa exporters in the country. Apparently he owns a dozen planes, mostly Cessnas and Pipers, which he uses to transport miraa. 

9. Mike Sonko - The flamboyant Nairobi senator also allegedly purchased an 8-seater jet. 

10. Joe Kariuki -Last but not least is the Candy n Candy CEO, who became the first celebrity to own a private jet. He actually also got into the air travel business.