What killed Gen. Oyite-Ojok?

Explosive. In this article, first published in the Daily Monitor in November 2006, we revisit the helicopter crash that killed a soldier and ended a regime.

Because Captain Kamara regularly and carefully inspected the Bell-412 and Jetranger-3 helicopters at Entebbe before they flew, it is unlikely that the rod would have got so worn out over time as for him to fail to notice it.

What could have happened?
When the Milton Obote government took power in December 1980, the Ministry of Defence immediately set about trying to acquire new helicopters since all those that had served the Army under Idi Amin had been destroyed or fallen into disrepair.

Amin’s air force had fleets of Bell Augusta 205, 206 and Jetranger-2 models, most of which had been bought brand-new from Italy. The UNLA wanted to buy Puma helicopters but because most of the Ugandan pilots were familiar with only the Bell and Jet Ranger models, it was decided that the latter would be bought.

When Chief of Staff Oyite-Ojok and Secretary for Defence Nathan Obore approached Bell in Texas, since Uganda did not have a defence pact with the United States, Bell could not sell Uganda combat helicopters but only the non-combat kind used by the Police Air wing and civilian purposes.

The Ministry of Defence was advised to purchase the aircraft from the Bell subsidiary in Italy, which sold helicopters to Africa and Middle East region.
But because at that time there was an armed insurrection in West Nile, the Ministry of Defence felt the matter had to be handled urgently. They approached a London-based company, J & S Franklin Ltd, which was supplying uniforms to the UNLA.

J & S Franklin discovered that the island nation of the Bahamas had made an order for Bell-412 and Jetranger-3 helicopters from the United States but had somehow failed to pay for them.

Using a front company to pass the rules that barred a non-treaty nation like Uganda from buying Bell’s aircraft, J & S Franklin bought the six Bahamas aircraft from Bell Texas.

The Canadian front company then sold them directly to Uganda. However, the company wanted Ugandan pilots to go to Canada for training. The company also hired three people --- a Swiss engineer and two Canadians, one a pilot, the other a technician --- to work alongside Ugandans to revive the defunct Uganda Air force.

The Swiss and the two Canadians all drew lucrative expatriate salaries and lived a comfortable life at the Lake Victoria Hotel in Entebbe that acted as their residence. One of the Canadians was found to be less than well trained.
In an incident in September 1983 during which Oringi and one of the Canadians flew the army commander Lt. Gen. Tito Okello to his home in Kitgum, Oringi tried to test the Canadian.

On the return flight, the Bell-412 helicopter encountered a storm over the River Aswa and had to make an emergency landing in the papyrus swamp until the storm had passed.

Oringi had told the Canadian to avoid the storm but the latter had insisted, saying it was not a threat and flew right into it. Oringi then concluded that the Canadians were earning more money than their skills warranted. He issued a report to the Ministry of Defence recommending that their contracts be terminated.

Continues Tomorrow

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