It’s A Tragic Moment For Me, Ruto Mourns Gen Ogolla

President William Ruto mourned Chief of Defense Forces Gen Francis Ogolla terming his death tragic.

He said they will investigate the crash.

Nine military officers died in the crash on Thursday afternoon.

He said the nation will observe a three day of national mourning starting April 19.

All flags shall fly half mast in the country and all Kenyan missions.

Two military personnel survived the crash which happened as the chopper took off from a secondary school.

Those who died included Brig. Swaleh Saidi, Col. Duncan Keitany, Lt. Col. David Sawe, Major George Benson Magondu (who was also the pilot), Capt. Sorah Mohamed, Capt. Hillary Litali, Senior Sergeant John Kinywa Mureithi, Sgt. Cliffonce Omondi and Sgt. Rose Nyawira.

The affected chopper is among those that had been acquired from the US in 2016.

KDF-Kenya Air Force took delivery of six Bell UH-1H Huey II helicopters from the United States.

Officials said then the helicopters were to be used to assist with counter-terrorism operations in the region and assist troops who are part of the African Union mission.

The Bell Huey II is an upgraded version of the popular Bell UH-1H medium-lift helicopter.

The upgrade kit uses refurbished zero-timed airframes together with upgraded engines, drive trains, avionics, and rotors.

The upgrades provide significant advancements over the standard UH-1H platform including improved hovering capabilities and longer TBO intervals for time-sensitive components.

The helicopter can be configured for a variety of missions including disaster response, firefighting, military support, cargo, special ops and search.