ANALYSIS:
ONUKO DAVID
The following is how the world reacted to the loss that Kenya got following the crush of a helicopter that saw the loss of the internal security minister and assistant minister Prof. George Saitoti and Orwa Ojode respectively:
A helicopter crashed in the
outskirts of Nairobi on Sunday, killing the Kenyan internal security
minister -- a man who once served as vice president and was a
presidential contender in an upcoming election.
Security minister George Saitoti, 66, was one of the most visible figures in the nation's politics.
He was aboard the flight
with five others, who also died in the crash: his deputy minister Orwa
Ojode, two pilots and two bodyguards, President Mwai Kibaki said.
"The deaths of the six
Kenyans is a devastating loss to our country," the president said in a
statement. "Minister Saitoti will forever be remembered as a hardworking
and determined public servant who dedicated his time to the service of
the Kenyan people."
Saitoti, an American-trained economist and mathematician, also worked for the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
He served in various other positions, including minister of education.
As security minister, he
was among key officials who oversaw the incursion of Kenyan forces into
neighboring Somalia to battle the terror group, Al-Shabaab. Kenyan
trooops have been fighting the Somali-based terror group since late last
year.
"It's a sad day for
Kenya," said Najib Balala, a former minister, who blamed the crash on
old helicopters used by government officials. "We could have avoided
this accident with better equipment."
The crash occurred in the Ngong hills on the outskirts of Nairobi.
The BBC's Kevin Mwachiro says Mr Saitoti will be remembered as Kenya's "nearly never president"
Kenyan Internal Security Minister George Saitoti has been killed in a helicopter crash, officials say.
Mr Saitoti and his deputy, Orwa Ojode, died when the aircraft
went down west of Nairobi. President Mwai Kibaki has declared three
days of mourning.
There is no word on the cause of the crash, in which six people were killed, including bodyguards and pilots.
Mr Saitoti, a former vice-president, had been planning to run in a forthcoming presidential poll.
The 66-year-old was on his way to a security meeting when his helicopter crashed on Sunday morning.
George Saitoti
- Born in 1945
- Entered politics as finance minister in 1983
- Served as an executive director of the World Bank and IMF from 1990-2001
- Several stints as Kenya's vice-president 1988 and 2002
- Briefly stepped down in 1996 over corruption allegations
- Had announced his intention to run for president next year
An 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.
Prime Minister Raila Odinga, speaking at the site, described
the deaths as a "great tragedy", and promised a thorough investigation
into the cause of the crash.
Leading politician
George Saitoti had been a key figure in Kenyan politics,
holding a number of senior ministerial posts over the last 30 years and
becoming the country's longest-serving vice-president.
The professor of mathematics joined Daniel arap Moi's
government as a finance minister in 1983, going on to become his
vice-president in 1988.
He briefly stepped down as education minister in 1996 over
accusations he was involved in the Goldenberg financial scandal, but was
reinstated when a Kenyan court ruled he should not be charged.
After years as a senior member in the long-dominant Kanu
party, Mr Saitoti joined the current president Mwai Kibaki's National
Alliance of Kenya in 2002.
As Internal Security Minister under Mr Kibaki, he was a leading government voice against the Somali militant group al-Shabab.
Kenyan troops have been fighting al-Shabab in Somalia since they sent troops into the country last October.
Continue reading the main story
Analysis
Kevin Mwachiro
BBC News, Nairobi
The death of Professor George Saitoti, a key ally of President
Mwai Kibaki, is a second blow to the coalition government after the
death of senior minister John Michuki in February.
His death will be greeted with sadness across the country, as the professor was one of the country's seasoned politicians.
He was perceived as a no-nonsense man who had a rocky relationship with the media, often accusing it of misrepresenting him.
As the minister in charge of the country's security, his
profile was high following Kenya's incursion into neighbouring Somalia
to fight al-Shabab militants.
Mr Saitoti had announced his intention to run for the
presidency during next year's general election. He was a leading
contender for the post.
The militants have killed several people in a string of grenade attacks in various parts of Kenya, including Nairobi.
Mr Saitoti announced he would stand for the presidency last November.
No date for the presidential election has so far been set. Mr Kibaki's mandate ends in January 2013.
Prime Minister Odinga - a rival of both Mr Kibaki and Mr Saitoti - is also to stand for president.
The last presidential election, in December 2007, was
followed by a wave of ethnic and political violence in which about 1,500
were killed.
Helicopter Crash: Kenya Govt Minister Among 6 Dead
Kenya's internal security minister was killed with five other people
when the police helicopter they were travelling in crashed in a forest
near Kenya's capital, officials said Sunday. An anti-corruption crusader
said the incident calls into question the government's procurement of
airplanes and helicopters for its security forces.
Internal Security Minister George Saitoti and his deputy, Orwa Ojode,
were among the six killed in the crash, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka
said. Two pilots and two bodyguards were also killed in the crash,
officials said.
Kenya's government declared three days of mourning for the deaths of the ministers.
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.
Saitoti announced last year that he would seek the Kenyan presidency in 2013.
Odinga said that four years ago on the very same day, two Kenyan Cabinet
ministers who were his close allies died in a plane crash.
Anti-Corruption crusader Mwalimu Mati said the crash should make the
country focus on the history of bogus government purchases for the Kenya
Police Air wing. Mati runs the corruption watchdog Mars Group, which
has done several reports on the government's purchase of police
helicopters and their maintenance. It has called the purchases
questionable, and pointed out that they have cost the country millions
of dollars since 1999.
"Corruption in public procurement can come back to bite you," Mati said.
Mati said Saitoti will leave a controversial legacy. He said Saitoti
will be remembered for his role when a financial scandal almost
destroyed Kenya's economy. Saitoti faced allegations of being involved
in Kenya's largest financial scam in the 1990s when he served as vice
president and finance minister under former President Daniel arap Moi.
Saitoti resigned as education minister in February 2006 but was
re-appointed months after a constitutional court ruled that an inquiry
that investigated the 1990s scandal, called Goldenberg after the company
at its center, wrongly concluded that Saitoti needed to be further
investigated for his alleged role.
The court also ruled that any reference to Saitoti should be removed from the report.
At the time of the ruling, Saitoti said that he felt vindicated and a
burden he had carried for more than a decade had been lifted. The
government said it would appeal the ruling, but it did not do so.
The scandal began as a ploy to get export credits for gold and diamond
jewelry but evolved into a complex web of financial dealings in which
the government lost hundreds of millions of dollars.
Comment: this clearly paints the significance of the deaths of the ministers and perhaps show light to the government to take the deaths seriously and carry out the investigations.
