A plane crash after a year in office: How General Ogolla’s death parallels that of Nigeria’s Ibrahim Attahiru

The shocking death of General Francis Ogolla in a helicopter crash on Thursday, barely a year after he became the country’s Chief of Defense Forces (CDF), echoes that of Nigeria’s Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru on May 21, 2021.

General Ogolla became the first CDF to die in office. The helicopter crash has led to questions and rumors.

Such was the case when Lieutenant General Attahiru was killed in a crash near Kaduna International Airport.

Attahiru had only been chief of the army staff for five months when he and ten of his colleagues were killed when their plane, a Nigerian Air Force Beechcraft Super King 350, crashed.

Like General Ogolla, Attahiru was the first active-duty military chief to die while in office in Nigeria.

It is rare for the head of a military to die in a plane crash anywhere in the world.

Lt. Gen. Attahiru was appointed the country’s military boss in January 2021 as part of a top command shake-up by then President Muhammadu Buhari.

He had to help combat violence, including the terrorist group Boko Haram in the north.

On Thursday, General Ogolla was aboard a Bell Huey II helicopter with eleven other military personnel.

He and nine others died during a mission to strengthen security and rebuild schools closed due to banditry in the North Rift region.

On April 8, President William Ruto pledged to ensure that Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) personnel reach schools affected by banditry and general insecurity in the North Rift.

In Nigeria, President Buhari appointed Attahiru in response to the deadly attacks by Boko Haram insurgents.

At least 18 people had been killed and many others injured or kidnapped by the group in Borno.

Attahiru had served as theater commander of Operation Lafiya Dole.

But just nine months after the appointment in 2017, he was removed from his position.

His promotion to chief of the country’s army staff was therefore highly unlikely.

Like President Ruto, the Nigerian head of state had made this unlikely choice, saying he was trustworthy and professional.

In 2010, Attahiru – then a colonel – was in Nairobi as a military student at the National Defense College.

He was scheduled to return to Kenya in 2018 for an Executive Education course offered by the Harvard Kennedy School in collaboration with Aga Khan University.

Attahiru’s appointment as chief of staff, according to Buhari, was based on his experience in the fight against banditry and terrorism.

President Ruto appointed General Ogolla as CDF on April 28, 2023, despite controversy over his alleged involvement in an attempt to “overturn the outcome of the August 2022 presidential election”.

In a later interview, Dr Ruto was said to defend the decision to appoint General Ogolla despite the claims.

At the same time, the crash in Sindar, Elegyo Marakwet County, which claimed the general’s life, added to the list of accidents involving KDF helicopters.

A military helicopter on a food relief mission crashed during takeoff in Wajir County last November.

Earlier the same month, a KDF helicopter crashed in Kisamis, Kajiado West Sub-County, seriously injuring two pilots.

A Kenyan Air Force helicopter hit a power line en route to Nairobi on November 9.

Another military helicopter crashed in Chemolingot Stadium, Baringo County in July last year.

On board were officials who had accompanied Defense Minister Aden Duale on a security mission.

Lt. Gen. Attahiru’s death in northern Nigeria followed a series of other plane crashes involving the country’s military helicopters.

The crash that killed him was the third in just four months.

The three other accidents claimed the lives of 21 soldiers.

As in Kenya, this trend raised concerns about the conditions of Nigerian military aircraft.