Kipkalya Kiprono Kones (22 February 1952
[Profile]
at mzalendo.com. – 10 June 2008
["Two Kenyan government ministers die"]
Sapa-AFP (''IOL''), 10 June 2008.) was a
Kenyan politician who served as a minister during the 1990s and was briefly Minister of Roads in 2008. He was a member of the
National Assembly of Kenya
The National Assembly of the Republic of Kenya is one of the two Houses of the Parliament of Kenya. Between 1966 and 2013, it served as a unicameral house. In 2013 ( 11th Parliament), it became the lower house when the Senate was reestablis ...
from 1988 to 2008.
He first attempted to win a parliamentary seat at the 1983 elections, but lost to his opponent
Isaac Kipkorir Salat.
[''The Standard'', 11 June 2008]
End of an era for the king of the Kipsigis
/ref> Following the death of Salat in 1988, Kones won the seat from Bomet Constituency at by-elections as part of the Kenya African National Union
The Kenya African National Union (KANU) is a Kenyan political party that ruled for nearly 40 years after Kenya's independence from British colonial rule in 1963 until its electoral loss in 2002. It was known as Kenya African Union (KAU) from 19 ...
(KANU) in 1988 and then was appointed as Assistant Minister of Agriculture by President Daniel arap Moi
Daniel Toroitich arap Moi ( ; 2 September 1924 – 4 February 2020) was a Kenyan politician who served as the second president of Kenya from 1978 to 2002. He was the country's longest-serving president. Moi previously served as the third vice ...
. He was re-elected in the 1992 election and was appointed by Moi as a Minister of State in the Office of the President. In the 1997 election he was again re-elected, and Moi appointed him as Minister for Public Works and Housing; he was subsequently moved to the posts of Minister for Research, Science and Technology and Minister for Vocational Training.
Before the 2002 election, he fell out with president Moi and joined the Muungano wa Mageuzi movement led by James Orengo
James Aggrey Bob Orengo is a Kenyan lawyer, a well known human rights activist and politician who is the current governor for Siaya County. He is also one of the few Kenyan lawyers who have attained the professional grade of Senior counsel in t ...
. For the 2002 elections, Kones switched his affiliation to Ford-People, where he was the running mate of 2002 presidential candidate Simon Nyachae
Simeon Nyachae (6 February 1932 – 1 February 2021) was a Kenyan politician, government minister, and businessman from Kisii County.
Early life and education
Nyachae was born into a large polygamous family in Nyaribari, Kisii County, on 6 Feb ...
, but lost the seat to Nick Salat, son of former MP Isaac Kipkorir Salat who represented KANU, the party Kones had recently left. However, he was appointed by Forum for the Restoration of Democracy
Forum for the Restoration of Democracy was a political party and a movement against the one-party system in Kenya
)
, national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 ...
for a nominated seat and thus remained a member of parliament. He was also appointed assistant minister for public works.Orange Democratic Movement
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) is a centre-left political party in Kenya. It is the successor of a grassroots people's movement which was formed during the 2005 Kenyan constitutional referendum campaign. This movement separated in Augu ...
(ODM), he again won the seat from Bomet in the December 2007 parliamentary election. Kones was appointed as Minister of Roads in the grand coalition Cabinet, which was named on 13 April 2008 and included both the ODM and the Party of National Unity (PNU); the Cabinet was sworn in on 17 April.["Odinga sworn in as Kenya PM"]
, ''Al Jazeera'', 17 April 2008.
He was killed along with Assistant Minister of Home Affairs Lorna Laboso in a plane crash on 10 June 2008.["Ministers killed in Kenya crash"]
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
, 10 June 2008. The plane crashed into a building in Kajong'a market near Nairagie Enkare in Enoosupukia, Narok District,[Dominic Wabala and Fred Mukinda]
"Kones killed in crash"
, ''Daily Nation'', 11 June 2008. near Narok
Narok (sometimes referred to as Narok Town) is a town west of Nairobi that supports Kenya's economy in south-west of the country, along the Great Rift Valley. Narok is the district capital of the Narok County and stands as the major centre of ...
[ and the ]Masai Mara game reserve
Maasai Mara, also sometimes spelled Masai Mara and locally known simply as The Mara, is a large national game reserve in Narok, Kenya, contiguous with the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. It is named in honor of the Maasai people, the ancestr ...
.[ The plane carrying Kones and Laboso, a Cessna light aircraft, had taken off from ]Wilson Airport
Wilson Airport is an airport in Nairobi, Kenya. It has flights to many regional airports in Kenya while Nairobi's main airport, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, serves domestic and many international destinations.
Location
Wilson Airport ...
in Nairobi
Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...
;[ they had been flying to ]Kericho
Kericho is the biggest town in Kericho County located in the highlands west of the Kenyan Rift Valley. Standing on the edge of the Mau Forest, Kericho has a warm and temperate climate making it an ideal location for agriculture and in partic ...
in the Rift Valley
A rift valley is a linear shaped lowland between several highlands or mountain ranges created by the action of a geologic rift. Rifts are formed as a result of the pulling apart of the lithosphere due to extensional tectonics. The linear d ...
to help with the organisation of logistics for ODM candidate Benjamin Langat in the by-election that was scheduled to be held in Ainamoi Constituency
Ainamoi is an electoral constituency
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, ...
on 11 June.[ In addition to Kones and Laboso, the pilot and a security guard were killed.][
President Mwai Kibaki sent his condolences and ordered flags to fly at half mast, saying that Kenya had "lost leaders of immense potential at their prime age and with a promising future." Prime Minister ]Raila Odinga
Raila Amolo Odinga (born 7 January 1945) is a Kenyan politician, former Member of Parliament (MP) for Langata and businessman who served as the Prime Minister of Kenya from 2008 to 2013. He is assumed to be the Leader of Opposition in Kenya sin ...
, the ODM leader, said that it was a "sad moment"; believing that it was too late to delay the planned by-elections, he urged ODM supporters to use the by-elections as a tribute to Kones and Laboso by turning out to vote for the ODM's candidates.[
The "List of alleged perpetrators" of the 2007/2008 post-electoral violence of the Kenya National Human Rights Commission however lists him among the suspects on place 4 and charges him with "planning, incitement, and financing the violence".
Following the death of Kones, by-elections at Bomet Constituency were held on 25 September 2008. The seat was won by Beatrice Cherono Kones of ODM, the widow of Kipkalya Kones. Beatrice Kones was re-elected as Member of Parliament, Bomet East Constituency in the year 2017 under the Jubilee political party.]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kones, Kipkalya
1952 births
2008 deaths
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Kenya
Orange Democratic Movement politicians
Members of the National Assembly (Kenya)
Government ministers of Kenya