Kenyan minister killed in jet crash

A chartered plane crashed near the Ugandan border last night, killing a minister and seriously injuring three others in Kenya's new government.

Ahmed Mohamed Khalif, 53, the Labour Minister, died after the 24-seater jet went down seconds into take-off at Busia, 210 miles west of Nairobi, at about 6pm (15.30GMT).

Witnesses said the plane struck a pothole on the runway, knocked into a pylon as it struggled to gain altitude and then dived into a house. Both pilots were killed and three ministers were seriously injured, said Christopher Murungaru, the Security Minister. Peter Kimanthi, the local police chief, described the plane as "a complete wreck".

The accident shattered the political honeymoon of the President, Mwai Kibaki, who came to power little more than three weeks ago after a win over Daniel arap Moi's notoriously corrupt Kanu party.

Among those badly injured were Raphael Tuju, the Information and Tourism Minister, and Martha Karua, the respected Water Minister.

"The town is wailing," said Father Thaddeus Ndubi, a Catholic priest in Busia. Speaking from Kisumu, the lakeside town where the flight had been due to land, Anyang Nyongo, the National Development Minister, said: "This is a tragedy. It is a very uncertain time." The aircraft, a Gulfstream, had been carrying 13 passengers. A Kenyan pilot said it was "complete madness" to have ever landed on the short, rough airstrip at Busia. He said the plane's weight should have been reduced by dumping fuel and carrying fewer passengers.

The ministers had been due to attend a service to commemorate the death nine years ago of one of Kenya's leading opposition politicians.

Mr Khalif, who died shortly after reaching hospital, was a prominent Muslim and the only politician from the remote north-eastern region with a ministerial post.

Kenyans have invested their hopes for change in the new administration, which has already got to work. Corrupt officials have been sacked, investigations have begun into stolen public money and the crooked judiciary has come under intense scrutiny.

But illness and accident have plagued the government. President Kibaki has been confined to a wheelchair since a car accident last month. He was readmitted to hospital this week with blood clots. The Vice-President, Kijana Wamalwa, has just returned from London after treatment for liver problems.