Kenya’s Armed Forces Chief General Francis Ogolla was among 10 people killed when a military helicopter crashed on Thursday, the country’s President William Ruto stated, according to African media.
Ruto declared three days of national mourning in the memory of the fallen heroes, noting that the Kenya Air Force helicopter flew from the capital Nairobi to the North Rift region as part of Operation Maliza Uhalifu (End Banditry).
Together with him in the crash were 11 other gallant military personnel, nine who also passed on and two survivors.
Another nine persons who died in the crash were senior military officers. General Ogolla was on his way to visit troops stationed in the area and inspect ongoing school repair projects.
“Our motherland has lost one of her most valiant generals, gallant officers, service men and woman. The demise of General Ogolla is a painful loss to me, and certainly, the sorrow we all feel about his passing is shared by all the people of Kenya, and especially the KDF [Kenya Defence Force] fraternity.”
Ruto claimed the Kenya Air Force had formed and dispatched an air investigation team to determine the cause of the crash.
