‘Report will be made public,’ CS Duale details progress of probe into CDF Ogolla chopper crash

Duale who spoke during Citizen TV’s JKLive Show on Wednesday said that an inquiry into the death of the General was ongoing and multi-agency teams had even been sent to the United States to the Bell Textron Inc. company that manufactured the ill-fated chopper.

He noted that the remains of the aircraft had also been taken to the manufacturer to determine 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.

“As the president has promised the country, we will avail a very detailed report. Our teams are now in the US and have gone with all the parts and once all that information is collected and recommendations are given to us, we will tell the country if was it mechanical or anything else.”

CS Duale reassured citizens that just as President William Ruto promised to get into the root cause of the accident, the findings would be made public regardless of the outcome.

“The defence Council will receive the report, the Commander in Chief, Kenyan taxpayers who fund the military, family and friends of Ogolla will have answers,” he said.

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.”

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

"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?"