By Lauryne Akoth
President Ruto on Saturday noted that making the late General Ogolla the Chief of the Defence Forces was not an easy decision.
Speaking at the General’s Memorial Service, the head of state revealed that he received several recommendations for the position however, Ogolla was not among them.
“When it came time for me as the commander in chief to make a decision on the next CDF, it wasn’t an easy decision as it should be, it is always a decision of many balances,” said Ruto.
The president mentioned that despite not being recommended, he had a distinguished military career. However, the events of August 15, 2022, during the election day tarnished his chances of appointment.
” He was a military officer with a distinguished career. There was only one problem, the events of the 15th of August at the Bomas of Kenya and so, I asked General Ogolla for a meeting and we had a one-on-one, man-to-man, come-to-Jesus meeting with him,” said Ruto.
“When we concluded that meeting, General Ogolla told me the following,” Mr President I have no defense, I will not try to defend myself, It was wrong what happened,” he further added.
He mentioned that the General presented him with three choices, to either send him to court-martial, have him retire, or to extend an olive branch and grant him forgiveness.
Ruto noted that after the meeting, he reflected on two key areas, his arraignment in Hague and the brief he received when appointed as the head of state.
” I had been told there are four sensitive positions, that of the Inspector General of Police, Interior Cabinet Secretary, National Intelligence Service Director General, and of the Chief of Defence forces,” said Ruto.
He mentioned being cautioned against appointing the wrong person in those dockets as they are sensitive.
“I was told not to be shy about appointing members from my tribe as it was safe but I had made a conscious deliberate decision that we are going to take a different trajectory as a country where merit professionalism and competence must come before ethnicity and I made up my mind that General Ogolla deserved to be the CDF of the Republic of Kenya,” stated the president.
He expressed immense pride in his appointment, recognizing General Ogolla as one of the most outstanding examples of public service excellence.
Before the president’s tribute, Azimio leader Raila Odinga had a plea to the present regarding the fallen General’s appointment.
“As we lay Ogolla tomorrow to rest, your Excellency I want us to remove the stigma because I knew this man very well,” said Raila.
“General Ogolla would never have contemplated or thought about going to Bomas of Kenya to force Mr. Chebukati to alter the results of the last General Elections. We want this to be removed as we lay him to Rest. Rest in Peace our brother and my uncle, General Ogolla,” added the opposition leader.
Furthermore, he urged His Excellency to initiate a comprehensive inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the demise of the General and to examine military equipment, given the frequency of accidents over the past five years, to safeguard the lives of military personnel.
“Because of the manner in which General Ogolla died, a lot of rumors have been flying around and we want them to be put to rest. This can only happen if there is a thorough investigation to tell us the cause of the death; and how that plane came down,” he said.