Prayers to mark ministers’ memorial

By Vitalis Kimutai

The families of the former Roads Minister Kipkalya Kones and former Home Affairs Assistant minister Lorna Laboso will on Monday mark the second commemoration of their passing on.

The ministers died in a plane crash on June 10, 2008, at Kojonga village, Narok North District while on their way to Ainamoi constituency in Kericho District to coordinate a parliamentary by-election, which was to be held the following day.

Incidentally, the killing of newly elected Ainamoi MP David Kimutai Too had occasioned the by-election.

Private ceremony

Dr Joyce Laboso, the Sotik MP and elder sister to the late Lorna said in an interview that the family would mark the day with prayers.

"It is going to be a private ceremony at our Manaret home as our family intends to offer prayers by the graveside and take stock of how we have fared on since the sudden departure of our sister, mother and leader," Laboso told The Standard.

The Lorna Laboso Foundation has been established to support vulnerable children and see them through their education.

"Through the organisation, we give bursaries to bright needy children and buy them uniforms and learning aids," Laboso said.

The MP added that the foundation also would educate the youth against drug abuse and alcoholism.

"The Lorna Laboso Foundation has partnered with Sunny Bank in providing sanitary pads to girls in schools with a view to boosting the enrolment and retention rates in the learning institutions," added the MP.

Home Affairs Assistant minister Beatrice Kones, who is the Bomet MP and first wife to the late Kones, said the family has bought a four-acre piece of land for the construction of a children’s home to cater for orphans in the area through the Kipkalya Kones Foundation.

"We intend to build a home for destitute children and especially those affected by the HIV and Aids pandemic. Our aim is to provide basic needs like shelter, clothing, nutrition and education to the children," Mrs Kones said.

Human error

The families have sued Sky Trade Company Ltd, which operated the ill-fated Cesna plane for negligence, and the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority has been enjoined in the suits filed differently in court.

The plane’s pilot, Christopher Maria Schnerr and Kones’ bodyguard, Police Constable Kenneth Bett also perished in the crash.

According to findings of a probe committee headed by Mr Peter Wakahia, human error and bad weather were probable cause of the plane crash as the pilot failed to prepare a flight plan.

It was also suspected that the pilot, a German, was not well versed with the terrain he was flying over.