فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
Kenyan President William Ruto announced that Kenyan Army Commander Francis Omondi Ojola and nine other military officials were killed Thursday in a helicopter crash in the west of the country.
The Kenyan President announced after an emergency meeting of the Security Council: “Today at 2:20 pm (11:20 am GMT), our country suffered a tragic air accident in the Sindar area (…) in Elgeo Marquette County.” He continued: “I am deeply saddened by this announcement.” Death of General Francis Omondi Ojola, Commander of the Kenya Defense Forces.
He added: “There were eleven other brave soldiers with him during the incident. Nine were also killed with him, and two survived.”
The military officials were visiting the area 400 kilometers from Nairobi in particular “to visit forces deployed in the northern Rift as part of Operation Maleza Ohalevo” (“End Crime,” in Swahili) which aims to combat groups of bandits.
Francis Omondi Ojola, 61, was appointed Commander of the Armed Forces on April 29, 2023 by President William Ruto.
A few weeks later, Mr. Ruto defended his choice, responding to those, including his inner circle, who accused Francis Omondi Ojola of trying to prevent his victory in the August 2022 presidential election.
The Chairman of the Electoral Commission (IEBC), Wafula Chebukati, had confirmed that the man who was then the No. 2 in the armies was among a group of people who asked him not to declare William Ruto the winner over Raila Odinga.
“When I looked at his CV, he was the best person to be a general,” William Ruto told reporters.
After attending the Paris Military School and the National Defense College in Kenya, he began his career in April 1984 in the Air Force, according to the Kenyan Ministry of Defense website.
He is married, the father of two children, and has one grandson.
