Who was Kenya's military chief General Francis Ogolla?

By Brian Okoth

Kenya's Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) General Francis Ogolla died on Thursday at the age of 62, President William Ruto has confirmed.

"I am deeply saddened to announce the passing on of General Francis Omondi Ogolla, the Chief of Kenya's Defence Forces," Ruto announced in a televised address on Thursday night, declaring three days of national mourning.

Ogolla was among 12 occupants of a military helicopter that crashed and burst into flames at Sindar area on the border of northwestern counties of Elgeyo Marakwet and West Pokot at 2:20pm.

Ten people died on the spot, while two sustained serious injuries, and were airlifted to the capital Nairobi for advanced medical attention. The senior military officers, who left the capital Nairobi on Thursday morning, were in northwestern Kenya on official duty.

President Ruto appointed Ogolla as the Chief of Defence Forces on April 28, 2023, replacing Robert Kibochi, who had attained retirement age.

Joined Kenya Defence Forces in 1984

On that day, the president promoted Ogolla, who was a Lieutenant-General and Vice Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), to the rank of general.

Ogolla's swearing-in was held on April 29, 2023 at State House Nairobi.

Ogolla joined the Kenya Defence Forces on April 24, 1984, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant on May 6, 1985, and posted to the Kenya Air Force unit.

He trained as a fighter-pilot and later as an instructor-pilot at the Kenya Air Force.

Trained in imagery intelligence

The Kenyan ministry of defence website says Ogolla also trained in other fields such as imagery intelligence, counter-terrorism and accident investigation.

The general was a graduate of Ecole Militaire in Paris, France, and the National Defence College of Kenya.

He held a Diploma in International Studies and Military Science from Kenya's Egerton University, a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science, Armed Conflict and Peace Studies (First Class Honors) from the University of Nairobi, and a Master's Degree in Arts (International Studies), also from the University of Nairobi.

Ogolla rose through the ranks in Kenya's military hierarchy, and got promoted to the rank of major-general by former President Uhuru Kenyatta, and subsequently appointed the Commander of the Kenya Air Force on July 15, 2018.

Senior roles

Ogolla had also held senior roles in training, command and staff within the military system.

He previously served as deputy commander of the Kenya Air Force, base commander Laikipia Air Base, commanding officer of Tactical Fighter Wing, chief flying instructor at the Kenya Air Force Flying Training School, and operations desk officer at the Kenya Air Force Headquarters.

"He also served in the former Yugoslavia as an observer and military information officer from 1992 to 1993, as chairperson of Military Christian Fellowship from 1994 to 2004 and co-chairperson of Association of African Air Chief from 2018 to 2019," Kenya's ministry of defence says.

Ogolla is survived by a widow, Aileen Ogolla, with whom he has two children, and a grandson. His hobbies were reading and playing golf.

2022 presidential election controversy

In May 2023, President Ruto said in an interview on national television that he appointed Ogolla the Chief of Defence Forces despite Ogolla allegedly attempting to "overturn" his election win.

President Ruto ran against veteran politician Raila Odinga in the August 9, 2022 presidential election, and won by a slim margin.

Ruto, who served as deputy president in President Uhuru Kenyatta's government from 2013 to 2022, got 7.18 million votes (50.5%) against Odinga's 6.94 million votes (48.9%) to win the presidential race.

Odinga had been endorsed by Kenyatta, and when he lost the election, it was alleged that senior leaders, including Ogolla, had attempted to coerce the electoral board to call the election in favour Odinga, or force a rerun.

'Best person to be general'

In Kenya, a presidential candidate needs to get at least 50% plus one vote to win the election in the first round, failure of which, a run-off for the top two candidates is held.

Ruto said that despite Ogolla being part of the team "against" his win, he (Ruto) appointed Ogolla the Chief of Defence Forces because "Ogolla was the best person to be (a) general" based on his vast experience and academic credentials.

Ruto said that Ogolla later admitted to making a "mistake" for allegedly attempting to block his election victory.

"I had ten choices (to pick the next Chief of Defence Forces). I could have appointed anybody, I decided against the advice of many people who told me: 'you should not reward this kind of behaviour'," Ruto said on May 14, 2023.

Rotation

In the East African nation, the Chief of Defence Forces is selected among the senior-most officers in the respective military units – the army, the navy and the air force.

The CDF position usually rotates among the commanders of the respective units, meaning if a navy chief is appointed the CDF this time, it would be the air force's or army's turn next time to produce the CDF.

There can only be one Chief of Defence Forces at any given time, and the office-holder is accorded the rank of general.

Ogolla, an air force commander, had replaced Kibochi, an army commander. Prior to Kibochi's tenure, a navy commander, Samson Mwathethe, was Kenya's Chief of Defence Forces.