President William Ruto has opened up on why he appointed General Francis Ogolla to be the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) despite advice by his close handlers to ignore him.
Speaking on Sunday May 14, President Ruto stated that he picked Ogolla consciously because of his track record and rich experience.
“I appointed General Ogolla. General Ogolla was among the people who went to Bomas to try to overturn my victory, but when I looked at his CV, he was the best person to be general,” said Ruto.
The Head of State said he sat down with Ogolla and talked to hike before giving him the appointment.
“I had 10 choices, I could have appointed anybody, I decided against the advice of many people, they told me you should not reward this kind of behavior.
“He told me I made a mistake and I have no defence, do what you want, what I did was wrong,” he stated.
Ruto also said Ogolla might have made a mistake because of orders from then Commander in Chief Uhuru Kenyatta.
He further said that he made the appointment given that no one from Nyanza has ever been given the role.
“I am so conscious that since independence, nobody from Nyanza has ever been a CDF, it also played in my mind that I don’t want a situation where a community think that they can’t occupy a certain office,” he added.
Ogolla was appointed as CDF on April 28 succeeding General Robert Kibochi who had reached the mandatory retirement age.
Before the appointment, General Ogolla was the Vice Chief of the Defence Forces.
Ruto also appointed Lt Gen Jonah Mwangi to replace Ogolla as the VCDF.
Also Read: President William Ruto Appoints Francis Ogolla as New Chief of Defence Forces
