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U.S. Team Joins The Investigation Into Gen Ogolla’s Chopper Crash, Details Of The Latest

Sources also say the ill-fated chopper was assigned to fly the general since other preferable aircraft were being used by other senior government officials.

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Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Francis Ogolla.

Americans, the makers of the helicopter that killed General Francis Ogolla in the fatal crash are interested in the  details of the incident and are keenly following the progress Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has revealed.

Duale who was speaking during Citizen TV’s JKLive Show on Wednesday revealed that a multi agency teams had even been sent to the United States to the Bell Textron Inc. company that manufactured the ill-fated chopper.

Duale also added that the flight’s wreckage had been flown to the manufacturer for detailed analysis to ascertain the cause of the crash.

“Our investigations and inquiry are ongoing. They were done by a very competent team of Airforce and other officers from other services. We are engaging and have upscaled that up to the manufacturer Bell, of the U.S because they also have an interest,” Duale said.

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It is an international standard practice for the manufacturer to be invited to join the investigation where their aircraft has been involved in a crash.

The Cabinet Secretary at the same time dismissed claims that most of the military equipment in the country was obsolete and was the cause of most aircraft crashes in the country saying that he was constantly using the same chopper that killed Ogolla.

He likewise divulged that the plane that recently killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s foreign minister, and six other people was also from the same manufacturer and model.

“I used the aircraft that killed Ogolla’s a number of times… more than 15 times. Prof Kindik,  IG Koome all used it,. We used it when we were going to operational areas. It is a very unique machine that can fly at night…our troops use it in very difficult terrain,” he stated.

“The helicopter in which the Iranian President and his foreign minister died is the same helicopter, it is Bell from the U.S. with two propellers.”

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The remarks by Duale follow calls by the opposition to have the government heighten investigations into Ogolla’s death and make the findings public.

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“We are aware that it is the KDF that secures the flights of their Commander in Chief as well as of their top officer who is the CDF, they have done so unsuccessfully since independence and yesterday’s accident was unprecedented,” Narc Kenya Party Leader Martha Karua said after Ogolla’s death.

“Even the visual images of the accident…I don’t want to say anything more than many prejudiced investigations leave us with anxiety and answers are needed as soon as possible. In the fullness of time, we await information on what caused the crash. If we cannot secure the CDF then who is safe?”

Politicians banned

The CS has also added that politicians have now been banned from using military choppers to their functions.

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“We have now a policy in KDF, we are not going to carry politicians. Helicopters are meant for specific functions within KDF, they are part and parcel of the assets we have in safeguarding the country,” he said.

Preliminary findings

A team sent to the scene to investigate the accident was told the propeller of the Bell UH-1H Huey II helicopter was not moving when it came down minutes after take-off on April 18.

Witnesses told the team the chopper dropped like a stone landing on its belly.

The impact forced the engine, which is on the rooftop, to cave in crushing the victims on board.

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An autopsy on the bodies of the victims has confirmed they had multiple injuries.

The cause of the crash is however yet to be known.

A military probe team, known as a Board of Inquiry, has already been established.

Brig Mohamed Salah Farah, the Commander of Laikipia Airbase, leads this team.

Police are also among those who are helping in the probe.

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Tough questions

But as the probe goes on, a number of hard questions linger, and the KDF overlooked them when we sought answers last week.

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For instance, why was there no standby chopper during the CDF’s trip that day?

There has been observation that the CDF, given his high-profile position as the head of the military, is accorded treatment almost similar to that of the president during travel.

This would include a standby chopper, if he is flying, and a doctor and a blood bank in case of any eventuality.

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However, this was not the case when General Ogolla flew to the volatile North Rift region where a military operation against bandits has been ongoing for months.

Those in the know, say that when flying on such missions, the CDF either has a Puma helicopter or a double-edge-propelled helicopter at his disposal.

None of these were available to General Ogolla that day.

Instead, the CDF and his delegation flew on a single-edge propelled chopper, the Bell Huey II.

There is a concern is that military boss was on an operational mission and in such a situation, a general officer — in this case a major-general in charge of the Western command where he was touring — was supposed to be accompanying him or on the ground to receive him then escort him to the various schools he visited for inspection.

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This was not the case.

Instead, the senior officer who was travelling with the CDF was a brigadier, who is a rank below a major-general.

Another concern is that Gen Ogolla was touring schools but the KDF colonel in charge of education was absent, and so were other relevant senior government officials since the security operation is a multi-agency campaign.

With Operation Maliza Uhalifu being a multi-agency task, representatives from other security agencies involved ideally would have been expected to be present.

On that day, both the Defence Cabinet secretary and his principal secretary were at Uhuru and Central parks in Nairobi, respectively, to hand over the facilities to Nairobi City County Government.

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Sources also say the ill-fated chopper was assigned to fly the general since other preferable aircraft were being used by other senior government officials.

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General Ogolla’s death raised even more eyebrows considering his controversial role after the 2022 General Election, when he was then a vice CDF.

He was among members of the National Security Council who visited the national tallying centre at Bomas for a mission that is disputed.

That visit would subsequently put him in an awkward position with the incoming Kenya Kwanza administration that alleged the mission was to block Dr Ruto’s imminent victory.

During the memorial service at Ulinzi Sports Complex in Lang’ata, President Ruto uttered a statement that some interpreted as suggesting the man who rose to the very top of the military was not wanted by some powerful figures in government.

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“All the recommendations that I got on the next CDF, and on the advice I got about the next CDF, did not include the name of General Ogolla, unfortunately,” President Ruto said.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga had said during the memorial service: “Because of the manner in which Ogolla died, a lot of rumours are flying all over, we want these rumours to be put to rest. All this can only happen if there’s a thorough investigation to tell us the cause of the death, how the helicopter came down.”

Since then, calls have intensified, especially by opposition leaders, for a judicial or parliamentary inquiry to be established to publicly investigate the crash.

The opposition, for instance, does not want the probe to be left to the Kenya Air Force alone.

“When an accident occurs, it’s a security issue. [It raises] concerns which deserve an answer for the nation,” Azimio principal Martha Karua said.

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Whether the update will be forthcoming, and whether President Ruto’s word on not hiding anything regarding the crash will come to pass is a matter that can only be left for time to tell.

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