Families of Cabinet ministers killed in plane crashes mark anniversaries

In what has come to be regarded as a black June, 10 families in the country on Sunday, June 10, 2018 quietly marked the anniversary of their loved ones who perished in two separate but similar plane crashes.

The memorial happened in the backdrop of yet another tragic incident about two weeks ago (Tuesday, June 5, 2018) where 10 people died after a FlySax plane, 5Y CAC, which was travelling from Kitale to Nairobi plunged into the Aberdare ranges.

Families of former Roads minister Kipkalya Kones, former Home Affairs assistant minister Lorna Chepkemoi Laboso, police constable Kennedy Kipruto Bett and pilot Christopher Maria Schnerr separately held anniversaries following a plane crash in Kojonga Narok South 10 years ago.

On the other hand, families of former Internal Security minister Prof George Saitoti, former assistant minister Joshua Orwa Ojodeh, their bodyguards –Joshua Tongei and Thomas Murimi -- and pilots-- Nancy Gituanga and Luke Oyugi -- held their sixth anniversary.

It is only the Kones’ and Laboso’s families which have been holding public memorial functions owing to their political engagements – Mrs Kones is the Bomet East MP while Dr Joyce Laboso is the governor, Bomet county.

Families of the other victims have over the years chosen to hold private memorial functions as they are not public figures.

Though the two fatal plane crashes occurred four years apart, they had so many similarities.

They happened during the tenure of former President Mwai Kibaki and in both instances, the national flag flew at half-mast.

Both occurred in Maasai land in Rift Valley region and involved senior politicians from the area - while the Kones-Laboso accident occurred in Kojonga in Narok North on June 10, 2008, the Saitoti-Ojodeh crash occurred in Ngong forest, Kajiado County, on June 10, 2012.

Both planes were not insured and came down in bad weather in what was described as human error.

Because of the seriousness of the crash, there were no survivors. As such the promising careers of the politicians, their bodyguards and crew members were cut short.

Incidentally, Mr Kones and Ms Laboso died on the eve of two parliamentary by-elections occasioned by the brutal killing of two ODM MPs - Ainamoi MP Kimutai Too and Felistus Mugabe Were (Embakasi) - who died under a hail of bullets in different circumstances a few days after being elected to parliament.

While Mr Kimutai was gunned down by a traffic policeman in Eldoret, Mr Were was shot at night outside his house at Woodley Estate in Nairobi.

The Kones-Laboso plane crash occurred at Kojonga village in Narok North constituency in what investigators led by Mr Peter Wakahia said was a human error compounded by bad weather.

“Mr Schner, the pilot and owner of the plane, did not meet the minimum flying experience and qualification. The pilot did not make proper preparations for the trip and did not pick weather information from the briefing office to aid in his flight,” Mr Wakahia stated.

 “As a family, we held a private memorial service. Though the tragic incident happened ten years ago, it is still vivid in our memories,” Mrs Kones told the Nation in an interview.

Mrs Kones said, “Is it just a bad coincidence that the Saitoti-Ojodeh crash happened and that the recent crash in Aberdares which claimed the lives of 10 people occurred in the same month. Indeed, June has become a black month in this country,”

At the time of his demise, Mr Kones was supporting more than 40 students from the South Rift region who were in various schools and colleges.

The Laboso family on Sunday conducted a fundraiser in aid of Lorna Laboso Memorial Girls High School which was constructed under the Lorna Laboso Foundation with the support of the community, well-wishers, national and county governments.

“We set up this school as a leadership academy for girls and structured it with the local community in such a manner that it will outlive the Laboso’s life in politics,” Dr Laboso said.

The school has 835 Students with majority being from poor backgrounds.

“Lorna empathized with girls from disadvantaged backgrounds and she spent a great deal of her time and resources seeking to remedy their situations. She wanted girls to go through their education unhindered so as to be fully armed to face challenges life presents in future,” Dr Laboso said of her departed younger sister.

Mr Peter Sapalan, a politician-businessman and former close long-term friend of Saitoti said the former vice-president’s family kept their tradition of marking the day in private.

“It is unfortunate the Saitoti’s rising political star was nipped in the bud. Had he been alive today, the political landscape in the country would have been completely different,” Mr Sapalan said.

The single engine helicopter, a Eurocopter registration 5y COP owned by Kenya Police Airwing crashed at Kibiko A section of Ngong forest shortly after take-off from Wilson Airport killing Saitoti and five others.

Justice Kaplana Rawal, who was later appointed as Deputy Chief Justice, headed an inquiry into the crash. The findings handed over to President Uhuru Kenyatta on February 2013 indicated human error and poor weather conditions as cause of accident.

“The autopsies were unprofessionally handled. It was not easy to establish if the cause of death was due to carbon monoxide poisoning, traumatic injuries, fire injuries or a combination,” states the report in part.

But even as the report was being released, Mrs Margaret Saitoti moved to court through family lawyer Mr Fred Ngatia to block it. Saitoti’s family alleged foul play in the crash.