President William Ruto promoted General Francis Ogolla to the rank of General and named him the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) in April 2023.
General Ogolla was the Vice CDF before his promotion which saw him succeed General Robert Kibochi who left after attaining the mandatory retirement age.
Ruto appointed Ogolla despite submissions by former Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairperson Wafula Chebukati that he was among the people who asked him to alter the results of the election in favor of Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga or force a run-off.
However, in a media interview Ruto defended Ogolla’s appointment stating that he was the right person for the position.
“I appointed General Ogolla, he was among the people who went to Bomas to try and overturn my victory. Do you know that? But because when I looked at his CV, he was the best performer to be general,” Ruto said.
Ruto emphasized that his choice of Ogolla was based on merit as he emerged the best among the 10 candidates referred to him by the Defence Council.
“I called him, and I sat him down, I told him he went to Bomas to try and overturn my victory but because you are the best performer to be general, I am going to give you the job. That is how it works for me,” Ruto said.
“That’s why I told you if a person has the qualification. If he is the best candidate for the job, I will give him the job.”
The president dismissed claims that he picked Ogolla since he was the deputy CDF adding that he had the chance to pick any of the candidates.
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Kenya Kwanza Leaders Opposed Francis Ogolla Choice
He also revealed that a section of the Kenya Kwanza leaders advised him not to pick Ogolla as CDF due to the Bomas incident.
“I made the decision consciously, against the advice of many people. Many people told me, ‘You should not reward this kind of behavior’. I also must be sensitive, what exercised my mind is that this gentleman has a good track record,” Ruto added.
Besides, Ruto said Ogolla was remorseful for his actions and accepted any form of punishment. He also alleged that Ogolla might have been forced by former President Uhuru Kenyatta to try and alter the presidential results.
“Yes, he may have made a mistake, maybe because the Commander in Chief that time told him what to do. When I talked to him, he told me he has no defence and accepted that what he did was wrong,’ the president said.
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The Luo Nyanza Question
Further, President Ruto said his decision was also based on the fact that no officer from the Nyanza region had occupied the position of a CDF.
He explained that denying Ogolla the chance could have made the Luo community feel like none of them could become CDF.
“I was conscious that since independence there is nobody from Nyanza who has ever been CDF. It also played in my mind that I don’t want a situation where a whole community think that they cannot occupy a certain office,’ he said.
“So many things that are part of my system outweighed the mistakes he had made. I want to tell you that I make very sensitive and deliberate appointments,” he added.
