Politicians banned from using KDF aircraft - Duale

Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale on Wednesday announced that politicians will cease to use military assets including Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) helicopters for their political activities.

Duale said that the military assets will be strictly used for carrying soldiers whose mandate is to safeguard the country.

"We have now a policy in KDF, we are not going to carry politicians, at all. I mean helicopters are meant for specific functions within KDF," Duale stated during an interview on Wednesday with Citizen TV.

"They are part and parcel of the assets we have in safeguarding the country. They carry our troops, go to operations so not only helicopters but all our assets, going forward."

The CS was giving an update on the ongoing probe into the helicopter crash that killed former Chief of Defence Francis Ogola and nine others last month.

Probe update

Duale said that the team probing the crash is in the United States of America with some of the parts from the helicopter.

He also revealed that the remains of the helicopter had been taken to the manufacturer, Bell Textron Inc. company to determine the cause of the crash that killed Ogolla and nine others.

Duale further highlighted that the Bell Huey Il chopper was unique and had special capabilities, including flying at night.

The CS also said the chopper was an operational logistics helicopter that KDF officers used when going to difficult terrain and insecure areas.

The CS even disclosed he and other cabinet secretaries and senior security officials had used the chopper severally before it crashed.

"The aircraft General Ogolla used, I used it several times, more than 15 times. Prof Kithure Kindiki used it, and the Inspector General of Police used it. We mainly used it when we were going to operational areas," Duale stated.

President William Ruto announces the death of CDF General Francis Ogolla at State House, Nairobi, on Friday, April 19, 2024. (Photo: PCS)

It was reported that Ogolla, on that fateful day, April 18, 2024, used another helicopter other than the one he was mandated to fly in, and had been given out to a top politician.

Bell Helicopter produced the Bell Huey II helicopter (US-made helicopter), the model in the crash that killed Ogola.

It was however an upgraded version of the Bell UH-1H Multi-mission medium-lift helicopter.

Normally, the CDF and the President use one of the three Italian-made AW-139 delivered to Kenya in 2020 or Aerospatiale SA330H Puma which have been in service as VIP transport for years.

Bell Helicopter, now Bell Textron, a division of Textron Inc., developed the aircraft for the Canadian military in the late 1960s as an upgrade of the original UH-q Iroquois.

The Bell Huey II was delivered in 2017 from the USA, and it has been referred to as the workhorse of the Vietnam War.

This is because the Huey, aka the Bell UH-1 Iroquois, performed various roles during that conflict. It flew medical evacuation missions, transported troops into battle, and even served as an attack helicopter.

Kenyan military aviators, familiar with the helicopter, often describe it as the "workhorse of KDF" because of its extensive utilisation, and Interior CS Kindiki had been seen piloting the Huey military helicopter, undertaking frequent security missions across the country.