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Why Raila and Uhuru missed General Francis Ogolla's funeral

The coffin containing Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Francis Omondi Ogolla's body is wheeled in ahead of a funeral service at the Senator Obama K'Ogello Primary School in Siaya County on April 21, 2024. (Photo: PCS)

By Abdirahman Khalif and Bashir Mohammed | 21 Apr 2024

Uhuru and Raila's absence at Gen. Ogolla's funeral raised eyebrows, given he worked closely with them at some point in his career

Siaya Senator Oburu Odinga has revealed why former President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga did not attend the burial of Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Francis Omondi Ogolla.

Gen. Ogolla died, aged 62, in a crash in Sindar, Elgeyo Marakwet, when the Kenya Air Force Huey helicopter he was travelling in, alongside 11 other military officials, crashed and burned at around 2.20 pm. There were two survivors.

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Uhuru and Raila's absence at Gen. Ogolla's funeral raised eyebrows, given that he worked closely with them at some point in his career. During Uhuru's presidency, he was the vice chief of defence forces.

Addressing the funeral service at the Senator Obama K'Ogello Primary School in Siaya County on Sunday, Oburu said, "I bring the condolences of the former president, Uhuru Kenyatta. He is out of the country and has asked me to bring his condolences to the family."

Raila, Kenya's opposition chief, who heads the Azimio la Umoja coalition and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), is Oburu's younger brother.

Oburu also said, "I am also here to bring my brother Raila's condolences, who has sent me here because he is a bit indisposed. He could not come personally and therefore asked me to represent him."

Raila attended the memorial service at the Ulinzi Sports Complex on Saturday and gave an address in which he called for a thorough investigation to end speculation about the crash and to curb aircraft accidents that have been on the rise in Kenya.

"A lot of rumours are flying around about the cause of the death of General Ogolla. Only thorough investigations can put that to rest," he said.

Uhuru did not attend Saturday's memorial service and it was unclear why.

President William Ruto led senior government officials in granting Gen. Ogolla, whom he promoted to a four-star general and CDF, his last respects.

Ruto explained that he appointed Ogolla due to his competency.

"I made a conscious decision that we were going to take a different trajectory as a country where merit, professionalism, and competency must come before ethnicity. I made up my mind that General Ogolla deserved to be CDF."

Ruto further praised Ogolla's leadership, stating, "From where I sit and with the amount of information I get, General Ogalla made a very big difference in his leadership. The fact that he could reach out to all actors ... the synergy he built with the police and all the other arms was just on a different level."

Gen. Ogolla was laid to rest at his home in the Ng'iya area of Alego Usonga, Siaya County, in line with his wish to be buried 72 hours after his death.