The demise of the Chief of Defence Forces General Francis Ogolla alongside nine other military officials on Thursday, April 18, left a dark cloud over Kenya. Several leaders have passed messages of condolences to the affected families and the nation at large.
Azimio la Umoja Co-Principle Kalonzo Musyoka speaking during an interview on Thursday evening, encouraged Kenyans to remain strong and calm and give the leaders time to resolve and ascertain facts surrounding the tragic accident.
“My heart is with the families of the affected soldiers and servicemen, it is a tragedy of unknown proportion,” Kalonzo stated.
Reminiscing the 2020 general elections, the Wiper Party leader claimed that the late Ogolla was appointed as the head of the Defence Forces in line with the Military ‘Tonje Rules’ and not other speculated reasons.
“If Kenyans can remember exactly what happened after the 2022 general elections, that the general who was a member of the national security team was dispatched along with his colleagues to the Bomas of Kenya which is a normal thing, but brought about a lot of criticism,”
“If it was not for the Tonje rules, he would not have become the general,” Kalonzo added.
Kalonzo further urged the government to expeditiously speed up the investigation into the incident, as the country has never reported the death of a CDF in the line of work.
“We expect answers on what exactly happened so that you can end up with a fallen Chief of Defence Forces,” he stated.
Citing the rampant banditry attacks in the West Pokot and Marakwet regions, the former vice president questioned the cause of the aircraft crash.
“Kenyans want to know if this was an attempt to eliminate the general, or was it a bandits’ shot that took him down? Because if it was we can’t be losing to bandits,” he added.
Tonje Rules
Tonje rules are named after General Daudi Tonje, Kenya’s fourth Chief of General Staff, are a gentleman’s agreement yet to be encoded as the law.
The rules note that if a position holder serves for a term, four years in this case, they can get a one-year extension at the pleasure of the Commander in Chief of the armed forces.
Other issues highlighted in the rules include that against discrimination and sexism, where Tonje allowed women to marry and head military groups.
Legally speaking, the KDF Act indicates that the President, who is the Commander in Chief of the armed forces should appoint the Chief of the Defence Forces, Vice Chief of the Defence Forces and the three Service Commanders.
