By Lake Zone Watch Writer & Agencies
East Africa Friday began a three-day mourning period as announced by the Kenyan government following the death on Thursday of its Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), General Francis Omondi Ogolla.
General Ogolla and other nine senior army officers died yesterday at Sindar area, Elgeyo-Marakwet County, when a Kenyan Defences Forces helicopter crashed in the afternoon.
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, on an official visit to Turkey, has sent condolences to his Kenyan counterpart, William Ruto, expressing her deep sorrow on the demise of the top Kenyan military officer.
The East African Community mourning of the death of the Kenyan CDF signifies the historical importance of the region as a single political unit.
In 2012, Kenya also lost the life of its Minister of State for Internal Security and Provincial Administration, Prof George Saitoti, in a helicopter crash at Ngong hills.