The death of a Kenyan pilot – Captain George Nyamondi – in a plane crash in Chad has kicked off a major storm with claims that the aircraft was downed in a military strike in Sudan on allegations of carrying military supplies to the rebels.
A message released by the family to friends indicated that Captain Nyamondi died when the aircraft he was flying crashed in Chad on his way to deliver an air cargo to Sudan from the United Arab Emirates (EAE).
However, Sudanese nationals have disputed this explanation insisting that Captain Nyamondi was among the two pilots killed when a Sudanese military strike hit an aircraft at Nyala International Airport that was suspected to be carrying military supplies to RSF.
They allege that Captain Nyamondi had been hired by a company based in UEA to deliver military supplies and weapons to RSF – a rebel group that is fighting the Sudanese government.
Kenya has found itself in cross hairs of this conflict after it hosted the RSF in the country where the rebel group announced formation of a parallel government.
Captain Nyamondi has had a colourful flying career having qualified as a private pilot at the tender age of 14 – while he was a Form 1 student at Nairobi School – when he acquired the Private Pilot License (PPL) and started flying light aircrafts at Wilson in early 90s.
Being among the few skilled African pilots, Captain Nyamondi quickly established himself in the industry and by the time he hit 30 he had a fleet of aircrafts operating from Nairobi’s Wilson Airport supported by the lucrative United Nations.
During this period the United Nations had major humanitarian operations in the Great Lakes Region that had been torn apart by internal conflicts and war resulting to a serious humanitarian crisis that the world was dealing with.
In the Saturday military strike a prominent South Sudanese pilot Captain Ohide Lomoro was killed alongside several people and crew members some of them reportedly Kenyan nationals.
Regional news outlets said the aircraft whose airline markings had been removed, presumably to reduce visibility an avoid detection, was reportedly making repeated landings and takeoff at the airport before it was hit in a pre-dawn bombardment by the Sudanese military forces.
Several blasts were reported, hitting both the main airstrip and surrounding areas, including a UNAMID facility and a nearby residential block.
At the time of his death, Ohide was serving as Secretary General of the South Sudan Pilots Association.
