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| This are some of the remains of the wreckage at the crash site located in Kibiko, Ngong Division just in the outskirts of Nairobi. (AP Photo/Khalil Senosi) | | |
Prof George Saitoti, Kenyan Internal Minister, met his death in a tragic accident through a helicopter crash, in Kibiko, Ngong, just in the outskirts of Nairobi.
He was alongside six others among them being his assistant Orwa Ojode, the bodyguards and pilot. No cause has been established to rally the reason as to how the plane crashed. Eye witnesses say the plane crashed down and burst into flames.
Prof Saitoti was one of the key poiliticians aspiring to run for the presidential race during the countries forthcoming General Elections.
The 66 year old was said to have been heading for a security meeting when the plane crashed on Sunday morning.
A journalist for AFP news agency saw six charred bodies being removed from the wreckage.
Another reporter at the scene says debris of the burnt-out police helicopter were strewn in the brush.
Leading politician
The death of Saitoti is a "great tragedy that has befallen our
country at this time as we are making elaborate preparations to hold
peaceful elections," Prime Minister Raila Odinga said at the scene of
the crash, a forest in the city's outskirts.
It was not immediately clear what caused the accident. Kenyan police
cordoned off the scene of the crash and said they were investigating.
Rescue officials collected the charred and scattered remains of those
killed.
"As we speak now, nobody knows the cause of the accident," Odinga
said. "Nobody knows, and that's why the experts are going to carry out
investigations." He said that Saitoti and Ojode were on their way to a
political event in western Kenya.
Saitoti, an American-trained economist and mathematician, was one of
the most visible figures in Kenyan politics. For over a decade he was a
deputy to former President Daniel arap Moi.
As security minister he was the government's spokesman on security
matters, including Kenya's decision to send troops to Somalia last year.
Analysts say he played a key role in that decision. Saitoti appeared
often on national television to reassure the public in the aftermath of
deadly attacks blamed on the Somali militant group al-Shabab.
All that is in the minds of Kenyans right now is to hope that his souls rest in peace.
