It was a very somber moment back in September 3, 1998, when a top government official was burnt beyond recognition with his wife escaping with serious burns.
Alexander Kiptanui, Permanent Secretary of Directorate of Personal Management in the office of the President, and his wife were trapped inside their bedroom when the fire broke out in the morning.
During the sad incident, the rescue team was not aware that the PS was in the room because he was to travel out of the country but he had postponed.
The rescue team only rescued the wife and left PS Kiptanui in the house where he was burnt to death.
They would later learn that the PS was inside his house when his driver came to pick him up. However, the cause of the fire was and still remains unknown.
During the incident, their house-help who was sleeping in the ground floor had escaped unburnt because only the top floor was burnt by the blaze.
Ps Kiptanui had worked in the former president Moi’s government as an assistant director in education.
#historynow