• November 12, 2024

A Kenyan military helicopter carrying top brass including the defense chief crashed on Thursday, police said.

 A Kenyan military helicopter carrying top brass including the defense chief crashed on Thursday, police said.

A Kenyan military helicopter carrying top brass including the defense chief crashed on Thursday, police said.

President William Ruto arranged an urgent meeting of the National Security Council, his office announced after news of the crash emerged.

Defense forces Chief General Francis Omondi Ogolla was among those on board the helicopter that went down in Elgeyo Marakwet County, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) northwest of the capital Nairobi, a senior police officer told journalists.

There has been no official comment on casualties.

 Ogolla, 61, was appointed Chief of the Defense Forces by Ruto in April last year after a spell as deputy.

Ruto told journalists last May that he appointed Ogolla despite him being among those who tried to overturn his narrow election won against opposition leader Raila Odinga in 2022.

A trained fighter pilot, Ogolla joined the KDF in April 1984, rising through the ranks to command the Kenyan Air Force in 2018, a post he held for three years.

NEWS ROOM

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