Army chief and nine military officials killed in helicopter crash

Kenya’s army chief, Francis Omondi Ogolla, and nine other military officials were killed in a helicopter crash in the west of the country.

“The officers were visiting western Kenya, where a military operation is underway to combat banditry, before the incident,” according to reports.

“Our nation experienced a tragic air crash in the Sindar area […] in Elgeyo Marakwet County. I am deeply saddened to announce the death of General Francis Omondi Ogolla, Chief of the Kenyan Defence Forces”, announced President William Ruto.

“With him in the accident were eleven other gallant soldiers, nine who also died with him and two survivors,” he added.

The military officials were visiting the region, 400 kilometers from Nairobi, in particular to “visit troops deployed in the North Rift as part of Operation Maliza Uhalifu,” designed to combat the groups of bandits who sow terror there, he said.

A graduate of the Ecole Militaire de Paris and the National Defence College of Kenya, Francis Omondi Ogolla began his career in the Air Force in April 1984. Married with two children, he also had one grandchild.