NAIROBI, Kenya (AP):
A MILITARY plane traveling to a peace conference in northern Kenya crashed while attempting to land yesterday, killing a Cabinet minister, two assistant ministers and four other lawmakers, along with at least seven other people.
The plane crashed into a hill near the town of Marsabit, 450 kilometres (280 miles) northeast of Nairobi, while carrying political leaders to a meeting intended to ease tribal tensions along the Ethiopian border, said Parliamentary Speaker Francis ole Kaparo.
"This is the worst tragedy to hit the National Assembly," he said, with tears in his eyes at a press conference. "We have lost a lot of very good people in this crash."
LAWMAKERS ON BOARD
Kaparo said the lawmakers on the plane were Minister for Youth Affairs Mohammed Kuti; the assistant minister for internal security, Mirugi Kariuki; the assistant minister for regional development authorities, Titus Ngoyoni; the deputy leader of the opposition KANU party, Bonaya Godana; Abdi Sasura; and Dr. Guracha Galgallo Boru.
Also on board was a Kenyan member of the East African Legislative Assembly, Abdullahi Adan, a retired army general who served under former President Daniel arap Moi, Kaparo added.
Kaparo said he would adjourn parliament on Tuesday until all of the lawmakers were buried.
The Ministry of Defence issued a statement reporting that 17 people were on the Chinese-built Y-12 twin-engine cargo plane when it crashed, "including government officials, leaders and crew."
"The government has dispatched a search and rescue team to support rescue operations which are in progress," the statement said.
Four people were pulled from the fiery wreckage alive, witnesses said.
A police statement identified the survivors as Patrick Onsare, provincial commissioner for Eastern Province, Peter Kingolane the commissioner for Moyale district; the pilot and one crew member.
But when an air ambulance arrived in Nairobi, journalists at the scene could see that one of the survivors had died during the flight.
Godana was among the most prominent of the lawmakers. He was a former Cabinet minister who served as foreign affairs and agriculture minister, among other portfolios, between 1997 and 2002 in Moi's administration.
President Mwai Kibaki issued a statement expressing "shock and concern" at the crash.
In July, unknown assailants killed scores of people in Marsabit, including at least two dozen children in a school, provoking retaliatory attacks between members of different tribes and raising tensions in the area.
Since that time there have been efforts to ease tensions, including Monday's planned meeting.
In January 2003, a plane carrying four Cabinet ministers and other people, crashed in western Kenya killing one minister and the two pilots. A public inquiry into the crash recommended that in the future no more than three Cabinet ministers or senior government officials should travel on the same flight for security reasons.
The report also noted that many airstrips in the country were poorly maintained and the government did not allocate enough money for their repair and maintenance.
AP-NY-04-10-06 1028EDT
