20/04/2024
If you read the Saturday Standard today, the headline story in pg. 2 is about the controversy at the Bomas of Kenya that day the National Security Advisory Committee (NSAC) went to meet IEBC Chair Wafula Chebukati, and the SMS that saved General Francis Ogolla's life. The events of that day is well documented and has been extensively canvassed.
The story in today's Standard brings to light the considerations that were made on the day President William Ruto was faced with the decision to announce the next Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) who would take over from the retiring Gen Robert Kibochi.
The story says, that before the decision was made, President William Ruto summoned then Vice CDF Lt-Gen Francis Ogolla to grill him on the role he played that day the NSAC went to Bomas to meet Mr Chebukati, and I will quote it here so that you don't accuse me of making my own interpretation;
"Gen Ogolla told the President, "On arrival we met Chebukati, but PAS Kennedy Kihara delved into politics and started saying that IEBC needed to kneel to the results. I immediately sent a text to Gen Kibochi saying, "Sir, this is not about security but about politics. That text I have, and it is here."
From this story, it's clear that Gen Ogolla, who was Vice CDF then, was following instructions of his then boss, Gen Robert Kibochi, to accompany the NSAC to Bomas, in the interest of national security, and when it was clear there was no security threat to the outcome of the general election, based on his assessment, Gen Ogolla did not hesitate to relay that information back to his superiors, in no uncertain terms.
For President William Ruto to twist this event to fit his own political narrative, is not only insensitive to the family of the departed General, but also insulting to the larger community of Kenyan professionals who have to endure the shame of being dragged into petty politics, about things they know nothing about, all in the name of maintaining a saviour mentality by people who have neither sense of occasion nor personal shame!.
