President William Ruto announced that Kenya’s defence chief and nine other high-ranking officials tragically lost their lives in a military helicopter accident in a remote region of the country.
Fortunately, two officers, including the pilot, managed to survive the crash.
“Today at 2:20 pm, our nation suffered a tragic air accident… I am deeply saddened to announce the passing of General Francis Omondi Ogolla,” Ruto told reporters.
The president called for an immediate meeting of the National Security Council following reports of the accident. He mentioned that nine brave military personnel lost their lives in the crash, while two managed to survive.
He also informed that the Kenya Air Force has sent an air investigation team to determine the reason behind the incident, which occurred in Elgeyo Marakwet county, approximately 250 miles away from Nairobi.
The helicopter went down shortly after departing from Chesegon, where the president and his team were visiting a school, as stated by Ruto.
“A distinguished four-star general has fallen in the course of duty and in the service of the country,” he said. “Our motherland has lost one of her most valiant generals, gallant officers, service men and woman.”
Ruto declared a period of mourning starting from Friday, during which official flags will be lowered to half mast.
According to him, Ogolla, aged 61, departed from Nairobi on Thursday morning aboard an air force Huey helicopter to visit troops stationed in the North Rift region as part of Operation Maliza Uhalifu (Operation End Crime in Swahili), as well as other locations.
Kenyan authorities have long battled insecurity in the Rift Valley region, with armed bandits and cattle rustlers rampant.
“The helicopter burst into flames after crashing and it had more than 10 senior commanders on board including General Ogolla,” a police officer had told AFP earlier.
“They were in the area on a security mission because there are KDF (Kenya Defence Forces) soldiers deployed in the region,” he added.
Ogolla was appointed Chief of the Defence Forces by Ruto in April last year after a stint as deputy.
Ruto told journalists last May that he appointed Ogolla despite him being among those who tried to overturn his narrow election win against opposition leader Raila Odinga in 2022.
“When I looked at his CV, he was the best person to be (a) general,” Ruto said, adding his decision went against the wishes of many people.
