Kenya’s government dispatched a team to probe the helicopter crash that claimed the life of military chief General Francis Ogolla and nine additional individuals.
The cause of the crash remained shrouded in uncertainty.
General Ogolla was one of 12 occupants aboard the military aircraft when it went down on Thursday afternoon shortly after departure in the northwest region of the country.
The bodies of the deceased were airlifted to Nairobi, while the two survivors received medical attention at a hospital.
In response to the tragedy, President William Ruto declared three days of national mourning, acknowledging the profound sorrow felt across the nation.
General Ogolla was appointed as Kenya’s Chief of Defence Forces in April of the previous year. Mr. Ruto characterized him as a valiant officer who had perished in the line of duty.
“Our motherland has lost one of her most valiant generals, gallant officers, service men and women,” Mr Ruto told the nation.
According to the Kenyan defense ministry’s website, General Ogolla commenced his service in the Kenya Defence Forces on April 24, 1984. He was set to commemorate 40 years in the military the following week. Beginning his journey as a 2nd lieutenant in the country’s air force, he underwent training as a fighter pilot with the US Air Force, as noted by the ministry. In 2018, he ascended to the position of commander of the air force.
The other individuals tragically lost in the crash were identified as Brigadier Swale Saidi, Colonel Duncan Keittany, Lieutenant Colonel David Sawe, Major George Benson Magondu, Captain Sora Mohamed, Captain Hillary Litali, Senior Sergeant John Kinyua Mureithi, Sergeant Cliphonce Omondi, and Sergeant Rose Nyawira.
Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chair of the African Union Commission, extended the organization’s “thoughts and prayers” to Kenya’s president, government, and people in the wake of the “tragic helicopter accident.”
The officers had journeyed to Kenya’s North Rift region, a area plagued by banditry, with a mission to reopen schools shuttered due to bandit attacks. Additionally, they had visited military personnel deployed to stabilize the region.
In June 2021, at least 10 soldiers lost their lives when their helicopter crashed during landing near the capital, Nairobi.