Saleh Wanjala : “Kenya Video Falsely Shared as Modi Supporter Hanging from Helicopter”

As India approaches the final phase of its 2024 Lok Sabha elections, political leaders’ public meetings have reached their peak. Amongst this, a video of a man hanging onto a helicopter has recently gone viral on social media. The video is claimed to show a supporter of PM Modi holding onto the landing skid of Modi’s helicopter. Let’s fact-check this claim in detail.

Claim: Video of a Modi fan hanging onto the landing skid of Modi’s helicopter.

Fact: This is a video from 2016. This incident happened in Kenya’s Bungoma during a mourning ceremony for a Kenyan businessman. When a helicopter carrying his dead body was taking off from the ceremony location, a man named ‘Saleh Wanjala’ held onto its landing skid and dangled as it flew. Therefore, the claim made in the post is False.

To verify the accuracy of the viral claim, we conducted a reverse image search on several keyframes. This search led us to news reports (here, here, and here) about this incident from 2016. Contrary to the viral claim, this incident occurred in Kenya, not India.

According to the news reports, this incident took place during a mourning ceremony for a businessman named Jacob Juma in Bungoma, Kenya.

“As the helicopter carrying Juma’s body attempted to take off, however, a local man—identified as Saleh Wanjala by Kenyan media—clung to the helicopter skis and would not let go, despite the pilot lowering the helicopter for him to drop off, instead flying off into the distance,” reported the Independent

You can find videos of the same incidents from different angles here and here.

Saleh Wanjala was later charged (here and here) in Bungoma court for endangering his life and that of the helicopter pilot by performing this act.

In conclusion, the viral video of a man hanging onto a helicopter is old and was filmed in Kenya. It has no connection to India or PM Modi.