George Saitoti is dead! Orwa Ojode is dead! Police commissioner escapes by a whisker
Orwa Ojode, Uhuru Kenyatta and Prof George Saitoti at a recent public function.
News just in indicates that Internal security minister Prof George Saitoti and his assistant minister Orwa Ojode were killed earlier this morning in a helicopter crash over Ngong forest. Initial reports indicate that the ministers as well as the five other occupants of the chopper were burnt beyond recognition.
News just in indicates that Internal security minister Prof George Saitoti and his assistant minister Orwa Ojode were killed earlier this morning in a helicopter crash over Ngong forest. Initial reports indicate that the ministers as well as the five other occupants of the chopper were burnt beyond recognition.
It is still not clear what the cause of the accident may have been but the area where the accident occurred (Kibiku forest) like the rest of the vast Ngong forest is known for the kind of bad weather that can make flying dangerous. However another eye-witness report of the horrific accident casts doubt on the weather or terrain being the cause; "The Chopper was filled with smoke before it crashed. I heard two explosions as it went up in flames." If this eye witness report is correct then it would indicate that there was a fire inside the helicopter before it went down which opens up several other possibilities including mechanical failure and even sabotage. It is however too early to speculate and possible conclusions can only be drawn after through investigations into the possible cause of the tragedy.
Other reports indicate that police commissioner Mathew Iteere is badly shaken because he was supposed to be on the fateful chopper and was only kept away because he missed a flight from Mombasa that would have enabled him to join the others on time.
In a bizarre twist today, June 10th, is the very same date in 2008 that another cabinet minister and an assistant minister died on a plane crash. Remember Kipkalya Kones and Laboso? Read the Kumekucha breaking news story on this very date in 2008.
Vice president Kalonzo Musyoka is said to have been one of the first senior government officials to arrive atthe scene of the disaster.
I will do another much more detailed post later today after gathering more information.
