This archive report was first published on 14 July 2020.
On an unspecified date, a US-made MD 530F helicopter gunship crashed at around 10am in the Kithyoko area of Masinga, Machakos County, Kenya, resulting in the loss of two lives.
The helicopter, part of the six MD 530F planes acquired by the Kenya Army Aviation in January this year, was among the initial order of 12 light attack and reconnaissance helicopters meant to enhance the firepower of the Kenya Defence Forces in the wake of sustained attacks by Al Shabaab militants.
The helicopters were acquired from the United States through the US Foreign Military Sales programme as part of a $253 million (Sh25.5 billion) arms deal that Nairobi signed with Washington in May 2017.
Former Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces Gen Samson Mwathethe received the helicopters at the Joint Helicopter Command in Embakasi, Nairobi, in a ceremony attended by US Ambassador to Kenya Kyle McCarter and US Army Major General Michael Turello, the commanding general of the Combined Joint Task Force in the Horn of Africa.
"Kenya is currently involved in operations against terrorist organisations, notably the Al Shabaab in Somalia, as part of Africa Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) and along the Kenya-Somalia border," said Lt Gen Koipaton.
