• President William Ruto has shed light on why he appointed Lt. General Francis Omondi Ogolla as the new Chief of Defence Forces (CDF)
• Ruto said that he had been advised not to reward General Ogolla with the appointment over claims that he was among the team that attempted to overturn his presidential victory
• General Ogolla took the reigns of power on April 29, replacing General Robert Kariuki Kibochi whose tenure had come to an end
President William Ruto has shed light on why he appointed Lt. General Francis Omondi Ogolla as the new Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), a decision he says was against the opinion of many.
General Ogolla
Speaking during a joint media interview from State House on Sunday, Ruto said that he had been advised not to reward General Ogolla with the appointment over claims that he was among the team that attempted to overturn his presidential victory in September 2022.
Ruto said that despite the latter, his qualifications outweighed his past deeds, stating that he was the best-suited candidate for the job.
“General Ogolla is among the people who went to Bomas to try and overturn my victory but because when I looked at his CV, he was the best person to be General. Many things that are part of my system overweighed what he had done,” he said.
He also clarified that he is keen to make deliberate appointments and his decisions are not dictated by an individual’s affiliation provided that they have a stellar track record.
“I could have appointed anybody I had I think 10 choices, people say that I appointed Ogolla because he was the deputy CDF, but that is not the case. I made the decision consciously and I made it against the advise of many people.”
He further intimated that prior to the appointment he had a meeting with Ogolla who admitted that he played a part in attempting to cripple the presidential victory.
In the said meeting, Ruto said, he made it clear that he will still appoint him since he has outstanding merit.
“I called him and I sat him down. I told him my friend you went to Bomas to try and overturn my victory but because you are the best person to be general I am going to give you the job. That is how it works with me,” he pointed out.
“He told me ‘I have no defence you do with me whatever you want. What I did was wrong’. What exercised my mind is that yes, this gentleman might have made a mistake maybe because the commander in chief that time told him what to do.”
General Ogolla took the reigns of power on April 29, replacing General Robert Kariuki Kibochi whose tenure had come to an end.
Until his appointment, he was serving as the Vice Chief of the Defence Forces (VCDF).
