The military chopper crash on April 18 in Elgeyo Marakwet has elicited new issues within the service, which seem to be boiling over time.
The crash increased the number of crashes that have happened and claimed lives in the service so far.
At least five choppers have crashed in a series of incidents.
This has raised questions on the safety of the choppers in general.
Officials have raised concerns over the rate of accidents involving military choppers and demanded an overhaul of the fleet.
Among issues being raised include lack of training of pilots handling the choppers.
Pilots complain they have not been receiving the needed training for some time now.
This is could be a contributing factor to some of the accidents being reported.
Investigations will cover the issues among others.
They add there is general fatigue in the pool of pilots.
“None seems to be checking on how many hours a pilot is supposed to fly within a certain period. We are overworked,” said one pilot.
He added the pool of pilots in the military are overworked as they fly all the time and that they are few.
“Look at the president’s itinerary, his deputy and the number of politicians sent to seek our services. It is crazy.”
One pilot attached to the Deputy President’s chopper is said to have resigned after getting a better paying job in Saudi Arabia.
He cited fatigue as part of the reasons for the move. Another resigned and joined private choppers owned by a senior politician.
There is also the issue of low morale in the pool.
Azimio leader Raila Odinga Saturday raised the issue of the state of the choppers saying they need to be looked into.
The state of the fleet of choppers in the military is also another issue of concern.
Insiders say the chopper involved in the crash had been in Boni in Lamu and was due for service.
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.
The cause of the Thursday April 18 crash is yet to be known.
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.
Officials say another issue affecting them is that Kenya Airforce (KAF) usually submits request for funds to DoD for training and maintenance which DoD forward to treasury for approval and release.
Treasury usually releases the money in time.
“But instead of DoD forwarding money to KAF they use to pay their pending bills for other things like construction which has nothing to do with KAF,” said another officer.
The Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), onboard the Kenya Air Force Huey Helicopter, had left Nairobi Thursday morning, to visit troops deployed in the North Rift under Operation Maliza Uhalifu. It crashed moments after the take-off in a school in the area.
Findings of past accidents are yet to be made public.
Two KDF pilots were in November 2023 admitted in hospital after their chopper crashed in Kisamis area, Kajiado West.
This is after a Kenya Air Force, Fennec helicopter hit a power cable as it flew to Nairobi.
Officials said the incident happened on November 9 evening.
It was the second such Fennec helicopter to crash in four months.
In July 2023, a similar chopper crashed in Chemolingot Stadium in Baringo County.
The chopper was carrying officials who were part of the entourage accompanying Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale on a security tour of the volatile region.
KDF said the helicopter hit a tree and crashed during take-off.
All persons onboard including government officials escaped unhurt.
On September 18, 2023 at least eight Kenya Defence Forces personnel died in a helicopter crash in Lamu County.
The Department of Defence headquarters said the Kenya Air Force Huey Helicopter crashed at night while on night patrol in Lamu County.
In November 2023, an unknown number of people who were on board a military chopper were injured when it crashed moments after take off from Buna Hospital in Wajir North.
The Mi17 Kenya Air Force chopper was badly damaged after it dropped to the ground as the pilot tried to lift off.
In 2021, a military chopper crashed in Oltepesi area, a few kilometres from Kisamis killing ten Kenya Air Force personnel while 13 others sustained injuries.
Investigations into the incidents are ongoing.
The accident on April 18 is still under probe amid questions on the state of the fleet in the service.
Gen Ogolla and nine other military officers and servicemen died in a helicopter crash on Thursday April 18 in Sindar area, Kaben location, Tot division, in Elgeyo Marakwet County.
Together with him in the crash were eleven other military personnel, nine who also passed on and two survivors.
Among the dead were Brig 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.
Gen Ogolla was to inspect the ongoing school renovations works in Chesitet Primary School, Cheptulel Boys High School, Chepoton Primary School, Ksaa Primary School and Sablimoi Primary School.
President William Ruto said the CDF had been briefed on the security situation by a multi-agency team stationed at Chesitet in Baringo County, after which he proceeded to the Kainuk Forward Operating Base in Turkana County, where he addressed troops, commending them for their resilience and operational successes.
The CDF and his entourage departed from Kainuk to Chesegon, West Pokot County, where he launched the rehabilitation of Cheptulel Boys High School.
He then departed Chesegon for the Recruits Training School in Uasin Gishu County, where he was scheduled to inspect construction facilities at the institution.
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