By Brian Okoth
Kenya's President William Ruto has promised a transparent investigation into the helicopter crash that killed the country's chief of defence forces and nine others on Thursday.
"All details will be laid bare on the accident that took the life of General Ogolla," Ruto said on Sunday at Ng'iya village, Siaya County, in Western Kenya during the burial mass of General Francis Ogolla.
"I want to assure the country that the Kenya Defence Forces and the Kenya Air Force have the requisite integrity and professionalism to make sure that there will be no shroud of doubt as to what happened to General Ogolla," he added.
Major-General John Omenda, the commander of the Kenya Air Force, is leading the probe. The April 18 aircraft crash, which killed ten people and left two others nursing serious injuries, occurred in the northwestern county of Elgeyo Marakwet.
'Passionate commander'
In his message, President Ruto showered praise on the late general, saying Ogolla, 62, was "a consummate military officer, a passionate commander and a patriotic citizen of Kenya of great humility and integrity."
The president added that he appointed Ogolla Kenya's chief of defence forces because Ogolla had the "credentials, integrity, professionalism, and stood tall", hence deserved the appointment.
"I was very proud working with this man, General Ogolla, and I know for sure, I made the right decision, and if I had another chance to appoint him, I would appoint him the CDF of Kenya.
"I am very confident, as I was then, that in the hands of General Ogolla, the security of Kenya was assured. He demonstrated in strategy, word, and in deed that he loved this country, and that he wanted the best for Kenya. He stopped at nothing to make sure that Kenya was safe."
'No political assassinations'
Following the death of the general and nine others in a chopper crash, speculation swirled in the East African country into what might have brought down the victims' helicopter.
In what appeared to be a message allaying the speculation, Ruto said: "There shall never again be extrajudicial killings or political assassinations (in Kenya)."
Siaya Senator Oburu Odinga, the elder brother of opposition leader Raila Odinga, had earlier suggested in his speech on Sunday that Ogolla was a victim of "assassination."
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. Ruto ran against Raila Odinga in the August 9, 2022 presidential election, and won by a slim margin.
'Stigma'
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.
Odinga, however, dismissed the allegations levelled against Ogolla, terming them "stigma."
The veteran politician, who served as Kenya's prime minister from 2008 to 2013, spoke on Friday in the capital Nairobi during a military farewell for the late Ogolla.
The general, who is survived by a widow and two children, was buried at his rural home in Ng'iya, Siaya County, on Sunday.
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