January 23, 2003, will always be a day for former Gichugu MP Martha Karua to remember.
Karua alongside some other government officials in the then former president Mwai Kibaki’s government miraculously survived a deadly plane crash in Busia.
The plane crash claimed the life of the then Labour Minister Ahmad Muhammad Khalif and two pilots while seriously injuring others.
Investigations into the crash showed that the light aircraft hit power lines before crashing.
The chattered 24 sitter Gulf-stream plane crashed as it was taking off from Busia to Nairobi.
The plane is said to have failed to gain enough altitude, causing it to strike two houses and hit an electricity pole.
Karua, the then Information Minister Raphael Tuju, Lina Jebii Kilimo, Martha Koome and George Khaniri were miraculously rescued from the plane wreckage with minor injuries.
The politicians had visited Western Kenya to thank residents for overwhelmingly voting for the NARC government in 2002 general election.
The crash shook the country as it happened days after the famous 2002 general election that ended retired president Daniel Arap Moi’s 24 years.
#historynow