KOHIMA — Veteran Naga national leader and president of the Naga National Council (NNC), Gen. (Rtd.) Thinoselie Keyho, passed away at Oking Hospital, Kohima, on Friday morning at around 8 am after a prolonged illness. He was 96.

Born on May 11, 1930, at Chedema village in Kohima district, Keyho joined the Federal Government of Nagaland in 1956 as secretary to the Director of Intelligence, Naga Army. He subsequently rose through the ranks, serving as Brigadier and later Lieutenant General in the Naga Army. During his years in service, he led Naga contingents on missions to East Pakistan and China, including a 132-member contingent that reached the Chinese frontier in January 1967.

His biography records that he was taken into custody by the Indian Army in 1971, following the outbreak of the Indo-Pak war, and was subsequently imprisoned at Tihar Jail in Delhi and Shillong Jail. He was released in 1976.

After his release, Keyho served as president of the Angami Public Organisation from 1980 to 1984 and the Naga National Workers’ Conference from 1981 to 1990. He was elected president of the NNC on May 11, 2016, at a general meeting in Yorüba village, Phek district, and continued to lead the organisation until his death.

He is survived by his wife, three daughters and one grandchild.

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