Two Kenyan ministers were among six government officials who were killed when a police helicopter crashed early on Sunday near the capital, Nairobi.

Internal Security minister Professor George Saitoti and his deputy Orwa Ojode, two pilots, and two of their bodyguards were burnt beyond recognition when the helicopter crashed at Ngong Forest in the outskirts of Nairobi.

The two ministers and their bodyguards were heading to the church service in Oyugis of western Kenya before the helicopter crashed. The cause of the accident has not been established.

In a statement issued after the accident, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki termed the deaths of the six Kenyans as "a devastating loss to our country."

"On behalf of the Government and the people of Kenya I send my heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and relatives of the six Kenyans," Kibaki said.

He said Saitoti would forever be remembered as a hardworking and determined public servant who dedicated his time to the service of the Kenyan people.

"Just last Friday at the Conference on Peace in Mombasa, Saitoti spoke eloquently and passionately about the many police reforms that his ministry was undertaking," Kibaki said.

Witnesses said there were six bodies which have been burned beyond recognition. They said senior government officials have rushed to the scene of the accident in the Ngong Forest, some few kilometers north of Nairobi.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga regretted the incident, saying the plane crash brought a great loss of the east African nation, saying he received the sad news with shock and disbelief.

"It is particularly poignant and a bad coincidence that the deaths of Saitoti and Ojode have occurred on the fourth anniversary of the death of the late minister Kipklaya Kones and the late MP for Sotik Lorna Laboso who also perished in plane crash in the same area," Odinga said.

On exactly June 10, 2008, Kipkalya Kones who was the minister for roads then and lawmaker Lorna Laboso died in the plane crash near the same area in Rift Valley.

Saitoti, former Vice-president and minister for finance and education was one of the presidential candidates in the forthcoming general elections which are due to be held by March 2013.

The U.S.-trained economist and mathematician who has been serving the government after being plucked out from teaching at the University of Nairobi is one of the most visible personalities in the Kenyan politics.

According to Kibaki, Saitoti leaves behind a rich legacy of service to the country. "Ojode will be remembered for his focused approach while undertaking his duties with great zeal and determination as an Assistant Minister and the Member of Parliament for Ndhiwa Constituency," Kibaki said.

Ojode had cheated death in a police helicopter crash on May 11 of 2009 together with former police chief Hussein Ali and Rift valley Provincial Commissioner Hassan Noor and several journalists.

"At this moment of great national grief my prayers are with the families of those who perished. Pilots - Luke Oyugi and Nancy Gituanja and bodyguards - Inspector Joshua Tonkei and Sergeant Thomas Murimi," Kibaki said.

President Kibaki said the four deceased were hard working and committed officers of the Kenya Police Force. "It is my prayer that the Almighty God will rest the souls of the six Kenyans in eternal peace," he said.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet