Funeral for Ecuador’s intelligence chief killed in Kenya will be private

The funeral of Ecuador’s intelligence director Michele Sensi-Contugi and his wife, Stephany Hollihan, will be held privately, despite President Daniel Noboa’s order for a state ceremony.

The couple died on Aug. 19 in a helicopter crash in Kenya’s Samburu county, near Mount Ololokwe. Seven people, including six passengers and the pilot, died in the accident.

Noboa was visiting China when he learned of the death of Sensi-Contugi, a close friend and one of his most trusted officials, and the official’s wife. He declared three days of national mourning and instructed the foreign, defense and interior ministries to coordinate a state funeral with the family.

He later canceled a planned visit to Vietnam during his Asian tour so he could return to Ecuador and attend the funeral. The Presidency said the family instead requested that the couple’s remains arrive in Ecuador, lie in repose and be buried privately, with only relatives and those closest to them present.

The remains were expected to arrive in Ecuador on Wednesday, according to local media. The burial was scheduled for Thursday at a cemetery in Daule, a municipality near Guayaquil. Sensi-Contugi, 44, had led Ecuador’s National Intelligence Center since January 2024. He also briefly served as government minister from April to August of that year.