Kenya Military Helicopter Crash Kills Defence Chief, Senior Officers
“Today at 14.20, our country is facing an air disaster. Following the news of the explosion, the President called an emergency meeting of the Internal Security Council of Ministers and said that there were nine “hero” soldiers on the plane.
Ruto said that the Kenyan Air Force is located approximately in Nairobi. He said he sent a team to conduct an aerial search to determine the cause of the crash at Elgeyo Marakwet, 400 kilometers (250 miles) west. The helicopter crashed shortly after leaving Chesegun, where he and his friends were visiting the school.
“The best four-star star died in the line of duty and in the service of the country”, “Our country lost one of its greatest leaders, good officers, men and women in uniform.” Ruto announced the start of a three-day mourning period and flags being flown at half-mast on Friday.
He said Ogola, 61, left Nairobi on Thursday morning aboard a Huey Air Force helicopter to visit troops deployed to the North Rift Valley for Operation Maliza Uhalifu (Operation End Crime in Swalihi).
Kenyan authorities have long struggled with insecurity in the Rift Valley region, where militias and cattle rustling abound.
“The helicopter caught fire after the accident and there were more than 10 senior officials on board the helicopter, including General Ogulla,” the officer told AFP before . “They were taking strict security measures in the area due to the deployment of KDF (Kenya Defense Force) troops,” he added.
Ogora was appointed defense force chief by Ruto in April last year after his tenure as prime minister. “Leader of Section who refuses to accept defeat,” said Ruto, adding that his decision was against the wishes of many people.
Ogola is a trained pilot who joined the Kenya Defense Forces in April 1984 and was promoted to Chief of the Kenya Air Force in 1984. He held the post for three years in 2018 continued.
