The president of Kenya His excellency William Ruto has recalled his last conversation with General Francis Ogolla moments before appointing him the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF). During a joint media interview media Council of Kenya the president recounted his conversation with Major General Ogolla at the bomas during last year’s General election. Citizen TV reporter Ayub Abdi Kadir asked the president about the code of conduct for the military and how politics works in Kenya.
He said that the General was acting against his will and let the senior government officials to neglect their roles in the Bomas events and this would have interfered with the 2022 presidential election results. Adding that he had no defence,Ruto disclosed that General Ogolla apologised for his action saying he had no defence and that the president should make any decision.
The President said he reviewed Ogolla’s track record and made a conclusion that he was the right man for the job as CDF despite opposing his presidency before. He further revealed that he experienced backlash from his allies but instead chose to ignore them.
This is clear when he still went ahead and made the decision of choosing Francis Ogolla as the Chief of Defence Forces.”Many things in my system outweighed the mistake that he had done,” he said.The President said on Sunday that while he had over 10 choices, he settled on Ogolla consciously because of his track record and rich experience.
Defending his decisions in making state appointments, Ruto said his appointment of Ogolla shows that he values merit over the tribe.
