When news began to spread of a chopper crash involving Emurua Dikirr legislator Johana Ng’eno on Saturday evening, my heart sank. 

I almost reached out to my friend Nick Kosgei to verify the reports. But on second thought, I stopped myself and posed, what if he was part of the crew travelling with the lawmaker?

At this point, news channels were still reporting that the identities of the other occupants had not been confirmed. I said a quiet prayer for Nick, hoping that he was safe and somewhere far from that crash. But far from it. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttXCyt7J11s

I met Nick about three years ago, at a time when my own career was in transition. I had just landed a correspondent role with the now-defunct Voice of America (VOA), shortly after my stint at the BBC had come to an end. I needed to assemble a broadcasting kit for my freelance work, and so I visited a popular electronics vendor in Parklands, Nairobi. 

That is where I first met Nick Kosgei. 

He was amiable, soft-spoken, and easy to get along with, and as I learnt, he was there to purchase filming equipment just like me. What struck me immediately was his patience and attention to detail. For nearly three hours, he carefully examined different video cameras with the seriousness and knack of a seasoned hand. 

It was during that long afternoon that he opened up to me that he was working with the Member of Parliament and had been tasked with securing the best equipment to support their media advocacy campaigns. At this point, he had barely graduated from Maseno University. 

I remember asking him how he had managed to secure such a rare opportunity so early, even before fully finding a proper footing in the industry. 

He simply responded: “Bro, it’s just God,” he told me. “I want to hang on to Mheshimiwa Ng’eno’s coat because I see a future here, and my goal is to make a name for myself in journalism and sharpen my skills. I am lucky to be here.” 

I remember his words like yesterday. 

Nick would later graduate in 2023 with a degree in Communication and Media Studies and become a huge voice at Maseno University’s radio station. His lecturer, Dr Kiplimo Korir, remembers him as a consummate student who was loved by many. 

“He was a valuable student who was, in fact, a class leader. From the very beginning, you could tell he knew what he wanted to achieve. Maseno University has lost a great deal,” Dr Korir told The Standard. 

He previously schooled at Koibeyon Secondary School in Longisa, Bomet County.  

Months later, and until recently, we kept in touch, most of our conversations light and filled with the familiar banter of journalists. He would often ask how mainstream media was faring and would not hesitate to remind me that one day he hoped to join mainstream media. 

He had promised to introduce me to Mheshimiwa Ng’eno and ta some point even plan for a TV interview, but that promise is now gone and will never materialise. Kosgei perished in a horrific chopper crash alongside the very man he believed would help shape his future. 

Barely three hours before the crash at Chepkiep in Nandi, Kosgei and his team had posted a video showing part of the trip and earlier meetings by MP Ng’eno. In the background played the solemn Christian song Uniongoze Yesu by Upendo Nkone. 

One of his friends, Benta Chepngeno, wrote: “I don’t know why he chose that song as the background music for the video. Was it a premonition?” 

Kosgei’s social media pages remain awash with cinematic videos he captured during his service to the MP. In some, he stands confidently before the camera delivering reports from the field like a trained TV reporter.  

Eliazar Ochieng wrote a moving tribute on social media:
“Nick, you really yearned for this job to help mom and dad, now you are gone.”

Collins Kipkorir, overcome with grief, mourned him as more than just a friend:
“Nick has been supporting my dream. He was more than a brother to me. I have lost a pillar.”

Nick is gone, and his dreams extinguished in an instant, but for those who were touched by his humility and love for people, his memories linger.