President William Ruto has explained why he settled on General Francis Ogolla as his first Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) when he got into office.
Ruto opened up during General Ogolla's memorial service at the Ulinzi Sports Complex in Lang'ata. Ogolla died on Thursday, April 17, following an air crash.
Ogolla was promoted to the CDF position despite the claims that he was one of the high-ranking officials in the previous government who tried to interfere with the 2022 general elections.
"When it was time for me as commander in chief to make a decision of the next CDF, it was not as easy decision as it should have been.
"It is always a decision of many balances. But let me say this about General Ogolla: on the recommendations that I got, for the next CDF and the advice I got about the next CDF, it never included the name of General Ogolla, unfortunately.
"But he was a military officer with a distinguished career. There was only one problem: the events of August 15th at the Bomas of Kenya. And so, I asked General Ogolla for a meeting, and I had a one-on-one, man-to-man, come to Jesus meeting with General Ogolla," Ruto narrated.
Missing name
Ruto said that despite Ogolla's name not being among those forwarded for appointment, after a conversation with the four-star general, he settled on the former Kenya Air Force Commander.
"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, and you have three choices: either send me to court-martial, have me retired, or forgive me.
"That evening, I went home after that meeting, and I reflected on what General Ogolla had told me. In that reflection, I thought of my own story and my own episode at the ICC in The Hague, where circumstances had conspired and I was there," the Head of State added.
Notably, Ruto was among the accused persons at the International Criminal Court following the post-poll corruption that occurred after the controversial general elections of 2007. He was later acquitted.
Warnings
Meanwhile, Ruto revealed he settled on Ogolla for the CDF position despite warnings he had been given over how sensitive the position was.
"I also reflected on the brief that I had been given when I came in as president, and I had been told there are four sensitive positions: that of the IG of the Police, that of Interior, that of Director General of NIS, and that of the CDF.
"I was told I needed to be careful about who you appoint into these offices because they mean a lot and are very sensitive. I had even been told that please do not be shy about appointing members of your community; you will be save," he explained.
He finally settled on the experienced military officer because he wanted to follow a different trajectory in the appointments he was making.
"I had made a conscious, deliberate decision that we were going to take a different trajectory as a country where merit, professionalism, and competence must come before ethnicity.
"I made up my mind that General Ogolla deserved to be the Chief of Defence Forces. It is an appointment that I am very proud that I made," he concluded.
