Politicians will no longer be allowed to use military helicopters, Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has announced.
Speaking on Wednesday during an interview with JKL Live, CS Duale said military choppers will be strictly used for carrying soldiers whose mandate is to safeguard the country.
He noted that the move is aimed at protecting the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) assets from further misuse by politicians.
“We have a policy, we are not going to carry politicians anymore. Helicopters are meant for specific functions within KDF, they are part of our assets in safeguarding the country. They carry our troops, go to operations so not only helicopters but all our assets, going forward,” said Duale.
However, he pointed out that he alongside Interior CS Kithure Kindiki would be allowed to use Military choppers when going to or for an operation area such as North Rift or Boni forest.
“When I’m going for an operation, I’ll use military assets, even my colleague CS for Interior, if he’s going to the North Rift or a place that is not secure, he will also use our assets,” Duale added.
At the same time, CS Duale said the chopper that killed former Chief of Defence Forces General Francis Ogolla was unique and had special capabilities, including flying at night.
The Defence CS mentioned that he together with CS Kindiki and IG Koome used the chopper more than 15 times.
“I used the aircraft that killed Ogolla’s a number of times… more than 15 times. Prof Kindiki, 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,” Duale stated.
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