In recent times, there has been a trend among Kenyan pilots to encourage their children to pursue a career in aviation, particularly in the national carrier, Kenya Airways (KQ). Wakenyaleo.co.ke, in this article, has compiled a list of renowned Kenyan pilots who have passed on the baton to their children and even spouses.
One such pilot is Captain Joe Mutungi, who flew for KQ in the early 90s. His daughter, Irene Koki Mutungi, developed a passion for aviation at a young age of five, watching her father prepare for flights. This led her to enroll in a flight school at Wilson Airport at the age of 17 after completing her high school education in 1992.
She acquired her private pilot’s license and later went to Oklahoma City, where she obtained her Commercial pilot’s license from the Federal Aviation Authority. In 1995, she returned to Kenya and secured a job with Kenya Airways, becoming the first and only female pilot in the country for six years.
Captain Paul Mwangi and Captain Emma Mwangi
Captain Paul Mwangi is a renowned Kenyan pilot who has been working with the KQ for over 29 years.
His daughter Emma Mwangi followed his footsteps to pursue the career and in 2019, the duo became the first father-daughter pilot team in the history of the national carrier.
Emma’s love for aircrafts began in 2003 after she cleared high school and saw off her father who flew Kenya’s maiden flight to Bangkok, Thailand. 10 years later, the two flew a 300 passenger plane from Nairobi to Thailand with Paul being the pilot and Emma the co-pilot.
Captain Constant Oteri and Captain Anita Oteri
Captain Constant Oteri, who has spent over 29,000 hours in the air, retired from commercial flying on April 1, 2022. Kenya Airways released a statement indicating that Oteri and his daughter Anita have both been employed by the airline for many years.
Anita initially pursued Finance at the United States International University (USIU) but later switched to follow in her father’s footsteps and pursue a career in piloting. She joined Kenya Airways in May 2019 and currently serves as a First Officer for E jet.
Captain Peter Maranga and Captain Emmanuel Maranga
Captain Peter Maranga had a long career as a pilot, spanning 30 years from 1989 to 2020, with Kenya Airways. During his time with the airline, his son Emmanuel Maranga was inspired to follow in his father’s footsteps and pursue a career in aviation. In fact, before Captain Maranga retired, the father-son duo even flew a Kenya Airways flight together.
Emmanuel is currently a First Officer on the airline’s B787 fleet and is expected to be promoted to pilot before the year’s end
After Captain Peter retired on June 21st 2020, Kenya Airways changed the call sign of the last aircraft he flew from KQ 2319 to Maranga 2319 to honor him.
Captain Ronald Karauri and Captain Ruth Karauri
Captain Ronald Karauri was a pilot with Kenya Airways for over a decade and also served as the Secretary General of the Kenya Airline Pilots Association (KALPA). He had experience both as a co-pilot and pilot of the Boeing 737 during his tenure at the national carrier. It was during a training session in Addis Ababa that he met his wife, Captain Ruth Karauri, who was also a pilot at KQ.
However, Ronald later left his career as a pilot to pursue business ventures and is now one of the major shareholders of the well-known Sportpesa betting company. Ruth, on the other hand, continued with her career as a pilot for Kenya Airways.
She recently hit the headlines after majestically landing a passenger plane amidst a storm at the Heathrow international airport in London, United Kingdom.
