KENYA CONFIRMS MILITARY CHIEF DIES IN PLANE CRASH

Fri 19 April 2024:

Kenyan President William Ruto confirmed that military chief Francis Ogolo was among 10 senior commanders killed in a helicopter crash in the northwestern part of the country on Thursday.

The helicopter crashed shortly after take-off on Thursday afternoon local time, killing Ogolla and nine other members of the military, Ruto said. Two people survived the crash, he added.

“I am deeply saddened to announce the passing on of General Francis Omondi Ogolla, the Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces,” he said.

Ogolla departed Nairobi on Thursday to visit troops in the North Rift region of the country and to inspect ongoing school renovations, the president said.

Following the crash, Ruto convened an urgent meeting of the country’s National Security Council in Nairobi, according to presidential spokesperson Hussein Mohamed.

“Our motherland has lost one of her most valiant generals. We have also lost gallant officers, servicemen, and women,” he added.

Kenya will observe three days of mourning beginning on Friday, Ruto said.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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