Kenya Security Minister George Saitoti killed in a helicopter crash

Internal Security Minister of Kenya George Saitoti killed on Sunday along with five people in a helicopter crash in Nairobi.

Saitoti was killed along with Joshua Orwa Ojonde, the assistant minister for internal security, the two pilots including a woman, and two bodyguards when the helicopter came down in the Ngong hills outside the capital. The 66 year old minister was a candidate for next year’s Kenya presidential election. He was on his way to attend a religious ceremony in western part of the country when the helicopter came down in the Kibuku forest around 8:30 am (0530 GMT) shortly after taking off from Nairobi's Wilson airport.

The helicopter was flying very low but it came down suddenly and people heard the loud explosion and it results into burst of flames. Six bodies charred beyond recognition being removed from the wreckage as the helicopter was entirely destroyed. Due to the air accident happened the Kenyan government will ensure a thorough investigation on the cause of crash.

President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga paid tribute to Saitoti, who played a prominent role in the campaign against Somali insurgents, blamed for a series of terror attacks and kidnappings on Kenyan soil. Saitoti controlled the state's top investigative arms, the National Security Intelligence Service and the Criminal Investigations Department. He is also responsible for sending the thousands of troops into southern Somalia in October last year to fight the Shebab and protect its border. It has since been joined by other regional powers in a bid to rout the Islamist group from their strongholds in the south and centre of the country.