Only KDF can investigate military aircraft accidents, says CS Murkomen

Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen. [Denis Kibuchi, Standard]

Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen says international and domestic laws do not give civilians authority to investigate military aircraft accidents.

The Cabinet Secretary, in a statement on X, said investigating such accidents is a preserve of the military, who is the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).

“The Ministry of Roads and Transport deals purely with civil aviation investigations touching on both private and commercial aircraft which are non-military and non-state,” said Murkomen in the Monday, April 22, statement.

President William Ruto, during the burial of Chief of Defence Forces General Francis Ogolla, expressed confidence that the military would be professional in probing a helicopter crash that left Ogola and nine others soldiers dead.

"The Kenya Defence Forces is as concerned as I am about the life of Ogolla. There will be no shroud of doubt on what happened to General Ogolla," he said.

The president promised to ensure the investigation into the crash was made public.

Azimio la Umoja leaders had called for an investigation into the death of Gen Ogolla to rule out foul play.