On Friday evening, January 24, 2003, a chartered 24-seater Gulfstream plane carrying 10 passengers and 2 pilots crashed shortly after taking off from Busia Airstrip. The plane was carrying several high-profile leaders, including Raphael Tuju (Minister of Tourism), George Khaniri (Member of Parliament for Hamisi Constituency), Martha Karua (Minister for Water Resources Management and Development), Ahmed Khalif (Minister for Labour and Manpower Development), Lina Kilimo (Minister in the Office of the Vice President and Home Affairs), and Wanjiru Kihoro (human rights activist).
The leaders were in Busia for a homecoming celebration for Moody Awori, who had recently been appointed Minister of Home Affairs by President Mwai Kibaki.
This event was part of the celebrations after the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) won the elections in December 2002. Cabinet ministers and party officials held victory and homecoming parties across the country at the time.
Tuju & Other Ministers Involved in Plane Accident
The celebration in Busia was meant to honor Awori’s appointment and political stature.
At the time of the celebrations, President Mwai Kibaki was still recovering in the hospital after being involved in a road accident following a campaign event.
The delegation, which included notable leaders, flew from Wilson Airport to Busia Airstrip in Busia County where the homecoming ceremony was held.
On their way from the event, the Gulfstream crashed into a house after hitting a power line in its take off.
A rescue team was deployed immediately to the crash site to assist those on board. Unfortunately, the two pilots, Sammy Mungai and Abdikadir Kuto, died on the spot.
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Then Labour Minister, Ahmad Mohammed Khalif, was also pronounced dead shortly after being admitted to a nearby hospital. On the other hand, political leaders Martha Karua, Raphael Tuju, George Khaniri, and Lina Kilimo survived the crash.
Chris Murungaru, the Internal Security Minister at the time, said the plane hit a pothole just before takeoff, lost control, struck an electric pole, and crashed into a house.
Wanjiru Kihoro, the wife of then Nyeri MP Wanyiri Kihoro, passed away on October 12, 2006, as a result of complications from the crash.
Former MP Parts Ways with Kibaki After Accident
Several years later after the incident, Tuju shared in a tv interview that he had cheated death because he had chosen to sit in the back seat while Khalif sat in his intended front seat.
“Khalif had gone to the mosque, and we were waiting for him. It took too long, and it was getting hot, so I walked to the pilot to ask why we were still there,” Tuju recounted.
“When Khalif arrived, he took my seat at the front. I couldn’t tell him to leave. Unfortunately, when the plane crashed, he hit his head on the barrier and died.”
In the aftermath of the accident, Wanyiri Kihoro parted ways with President Mwai Kibaki. Kihoro’s resentment stemmed from Kibaki’s failure to visit his wife, Wanjiru, while she was hospitalized.
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He expressed deep disappointment and stated he would never forgive Kibaki for not visiting her during the nearly four years she was in a coma following the crash.
Despite Wanjiru being a key strategist in Kibaki’s 2002 Presidential campaign and contributing significantly to his victory, Kibaki did not visit her in the hospital.
When President Kibaki passed away on April 2, 2022, Wanyiri vowed not to attend his funeral, remembering how Kibaki had not visited his wife.
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