Usonga, Alego Member of Parliament Sam Atandi has slammed President William Ruto for saying he appointed General Francis Ogolla as the new Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) despite claimed attempts to reverse his presidential victory in last year's General Election.
In a televised joint interview with media outlets on Sunday night, Ruto claimed he was persuaded not to appoint Ogolla due to worries that he was part of a team plotting to destabilize his presidential victory in August 2022.
"General Ogolla was one of the people who went to Bomas to try to overturn my victory, but when I looked at his CV, he was the best of the best candidate for the job." "Many things in my system outweighed what he had done," he told journalists at State House in Nairobi.
"I could have appointed anyone; I had about ten options. Some say I chose Ogolla because he was the deputy CDF, but that is not true." I made the decision deliberately and despite the advice of many individuals."
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Atandi is now accusing the President of tying Ogola to the impasse before the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) announced the president-elect at the national tallying centre in Kenya's Bomas.
"Tosing the topic of Bomas and linking them to General Ogolla is an error where President Ruto has lost it a little... "We need to move away from the Bomas issue, whether it happened or not," Amanda remarked on Monday.
According to the MP, the President's remarks harmed General Ogolla's reputation and questioned his ability to hold office.
"Ogola is competent in office, and his appointment as chief of the defense forces is something we applaud." "The president should not continue to say things that harm Ogolla's reputation," the senator said on Citizen TV's Day Break broadcast.
"When you say there are many citizens who could have been appointed," he continues, "you are not giving him the stature he deserves." He'll sit in an office, and his colleagues will look at him like he's not the best."
General Ogolla was sworn in on April 29, taking over for General Robert Kariuki Kibochi, whose term had expired.
In the hearing of the 2022 presidential vote petition, IEBC Chairperson Wafula Chebukati, Jr. filed a declaration listing Ogolla (then Vice Chief of Defence Forces), Hillary Mutyambai (former Police Inspector General), Kennedy Ogeto (former Solicitor General) and Kennedy Kihara (former Principal Administrative Secretary at OP) among officials who coerced him to moderate the presidential results in Ruto's main competitor, Raila Odinga's favour.
"You have my confidence and the confidence of the people of Kenya," President Ruto stated during Ogolla's inauguration last month.
