Latest news with #Ruiru
Al Jazeera
07-08-2025
- General
- Al Jazeera
At least six killed, two injured in medical plane crash in Kenya
An air ambulance has crashed into a residential area near the Kenyan capital Nairobi, killing at least six people and injuring two others, according to a local official. The mid-size jet took off from Wilson Airport at 2:17pm local time (11:17 GMT) on Thursday and was en route to Somaliland when it came down in Ruiru, Kiambu County, shortly after 3:00pm (12:00 GMT). 'We have lost four people, including the pilot … it was all fatal,' said Kiambu County Commissioner Henry Wafula. 'The house that it landed on … two people again also died,' he said, adding that two people on the ground had been 'seriously injured'. Images taken by reporters from the AFP news agency on the scene showed huge crowds had gathered, as rescue teams from the Kenya Red Cross and first responders picked through the scattered debris. 'The plane started burning while in the air,' resident Tasha Wanjira told AFP, before it hurtled down into the small community. Another resident, Irene Wangui, described how the 'plane passed by our building shaking it', and said when the aircraft came down, 'there were body parts littered all over.' As dusk fell, hundreds remained to watch the rescue workers, with residents sobbing as they were comforted by neighbours. 'I have lost everything, thank God my children were not around,' Margaret Wairimu told AFP, weeping over her destroyed home. The CEO of the charity Amref Flying Doctors, Stephen Gitau, confirmed one of their aeroplanes, a Cessna Citation XLS, had been 'involved in a fatal accident today', but did not provide any further details. Gitau said the company was focusing on 'the safety and well-being of those on board' and said that further information would be provided 'as it is confirmed'. Amref released a statement saying that it was 'cooperating fully with relevant aviation authorities and emergency response teams to establish the facts surrounding the situation'. Based in Nairobi, Amref was founded in 1957 as the Flying Doctors of East Africa.
BBC News
26-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
George Koimburi: Kenyan MP found in coffee farm after alleged abduction
A Kenyan member of parliament who was allegedly abducted by unknown men after a church service on Sunday is being treated in hospital after being found on a coffee farm, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has said. George Koimburi had been "badly beaten" and was in a "very serious condition" at the Karen Hospital in the capital Nairobi, Gachagua added.A vocal critic of the government, Koimburi is allied with Gachagua, who was impeached by parliament and removed from office last year after falling-out with President William Ruto. The alleged abduction has sparked outrage, with the opposition accusing the government of intimidation. It has not yet commented on the allegation. Police said they were investigating the incident, local media reported.A motorcycle rider who first found Koimburi early on Monday morning is said to have alerted other people and his family, the reports added added. A widely shared video clip showed the MP lying on the ground, his clothes dishevelled and seemingly in Sunday, Koimburi's wife told reporters that they were outside church, in his Juja constituency in central Kiambu county, when he was grabbed and bundled into a was reportedly found at a coffee farm in the nearby Ruiru constituency, less than 10km (six miles) from where he had been allegedly after visiting him in hospital, Gachagua accused the government of targeting legislators who took a "vocal stand against the government".There has been a wave of abductions in Kenya since mass protests against tax hikes broke out last year. The government has previously denied involvement in the kidnappings. Prominent opposition politician Kalonzo Musyoka said that opposition officials would meet on Tuesday to "assess the current state of political harassment and intimidation in the country by the Kenya Kwanza [governing] regime".He raised concerns over how an MP, who was entitled to security by the police, could "get abducted in broad daylight". "It means Kenyans are on their own," Musyoka February, Koimburi was arrested and charged with forging his academic qualifications. He denied the charge and was released on are reported to be also investigating him over allegations of land fraud and misuse of government funds. He denies any alleged abduction came weeks after MP Charles Ong'ondo Were was shot dead in the streets of Nairobi by gunmen on a said several suspects had been arrested following what appeared to be a "targeted and predetermined" Kenyans are alarmed by the deteriorating security situation. The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights says that more than 80 people have been abducted since mass protests broke out last June against an increase in taxation, in what was the biggest challenge to the authority of President William Ruto's government since it took office in 2022. The commission blamed the abductions on state security agencies, but they denied any this month, Ruto said the government had taken action to prevent further abductions, but did not give details. You may also be interested in: Pressure mounts to probe Kenya police and army after BBC exposéAbductions spark fears of a return to Kenya's dark past'We live in fear' - forced expulsions taint Kenya's safe haven imageKenyan minister alleges intelligence agency behind his son's abduction Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
