Kenya’s Chief of the Defense forces (CDF), General Francis Omondi Ogolla has died in a helicopter accident.
The CDF was in the company of other senior military officers as they left Marakwet East constituency in the county of Elgeyo Marakwet.
Location of the Helicopter Accident
The chopper General Ogolla was traveling in crashed a short while after take-off, in an area known as Kaben. Eyewitnesses reported seeing the chopper engulfed in flames once it hit the ground.
The chopper had taken off from a field in a nearby primary school.
The Kaben area, where the helicopter crashed, is 182 km from the city of Kisumu, and over 300 km from Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. The area has on occasion been affected by banditry.
Even now, the place has become prone to cattle rustling, and there are troops on the ground trying to restore security. In fact, the team of senior military officers, led by General Ogolla, had traveled to Marakwet constituency to survey the area, before more troops are deployed.
The cause of the crash, which only had one survivor, is yet to be established.
Francis Omondi Ogolla, a highly Decorated General
General Ogolla held the titles of EGH, EBS and HSC, among others. He was promoted from Lieutenant General to General by President Ruto in April 2023.
Earlier on, in 2021, President Uhuru Kenyatta had promoted Ogolla from a Major General to Lieutenant General, and appointed him to deputize the CDF, General Kibochi.
After the 2023 rank promotion, President Ruto proceeded to appoint Ogolla as Chief of the Defense Forces. He took the reins from General Kibochi, who had attained the age of retirement.
General Robert Kariuki Kibochi’s term as Chief of the Defense Forces had begun in May 2020, during the tenure of President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The Brilliance of the Late General Francis Ogolla
General Ogolla is an alumnus of the University of Nairobi, from where he graduated with a 1st Class Honors in BA. His specialization was Political Science, Armed Conflict and Peace Studies.
He advanced his education in the same university and graduated with an MA in International Studies. Also, the general has a diploma from Kenya’s Egerton University, where he specialized in International Studies and Military Science.
General Francis Ogolla has also had a chance to pursue military studies abroad, including in France.
As Kenya mourns the late general, observers will be waiting to see whom President Ruto is going to appoint as General Ogolla’s successor. Ogolla already had his hands full when he met his death, and his successor will be expected to hit the ground running.
Not only is there a challenge of cattle rustling to solve in some parts of the country, but there is the issue of piracy. Pirates from neighboring Somali seem to have resumed their notoriety of hijacking ships off the coast of the Indian Ocean.
In the second week of March 2024, the Somali pirates captured a Bangladeshi cargo vessel named MV Abdallah. They released the ship a month later, boasting they had received a substantial sum of money as ransom.