A diplomat and a source close to the Kenyan government said that Kenyan army commander General Francis Ogola was among the passengers killed when a helicopter crashed in the west of the country on Thursday.
A police source, who requested to remain anonymous, said that five people were killed and three others were injured when a military helicopter crashed this afternoon.
The president's spokesman said that the plane crashed in Elgeo-Marakwet County, without giving details about the deaths.
“President William Ruto held an urgent meeting of the National Security Council at the State House in Nairobi this evening after a Kenyan Defense Forces helicopter crashed this afternoon,” spokesman Hussein Mohammed wrote on the X platform.
The Defense Minister did not answer his phone when Reuters tried to contact him.
A senior officer explained National Police Requesting to remain anonymous, he told Agence France-Presse that “fire broke out in the helicopter shortly after it crashed, and there were more than ten high-ranking commanders on board, including General Ogola“, without providing details regarding the fate of the army commander.
He pointed out that they “were… on a security mission because Kenya Defense Forces soldiers are deployed” in the area where gangs of bandits are active.
The Ministry of Defense referred Agence France-Presse to the presidency for any comment regarding the incident.
The Kenyan presidency had previously announced that President William Ruto had called an “emergency meeting” of the National Security Council following the crash of a military helicopter in Elegio-Marakwet County, northwest of Nairobi.
The council includes officials of the most prominent security agencies in the country.
Ruto appointed General Francis Omondi Ogola, 61, as Commander of the Kenyan Army on April 29, 2023.
According to the Ministry of Defense website, Ogola began his military career in the ranks of the Air Force in April 1984, after graduating from the Military College in France and the National Defense College of Kenya.
