Kalonzo Musyoka Reignites Controversy by Insisting General Ogolla’s Death was ‘Deliberate’ in Explosive TV Interview
Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka has doubled down on claims that the helicopter crash which killed former Chief of Defence Forces General Francis Ogolla was no accident, questioning why the top military commander was flown in an ageing aircraft to a bandit-prone area.
In a hard-hitting television interview on Sunday, December 21, 2025, the veteran opposition figure maintained his long-held suspicions of foul play in the April 2024 tragedy that claimed the lives of General Ogolla and nine other Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) personnel.
The crash occurred on April 18, 2024, when a Bell UH-1H-II Huey helicopter went down shortly after take-off in Elgeyo Marakwet County, in the North Rift region plagued by banditry. General Ogolla, appointed CDF just a year earlier by President William Ruto, was visiting troops involved in anti-banditry operations and inspecting school renovation projects.
Kalonzo told interviewers: “I maintain General Ogolla was taken out. Because how do you fly commander of the Kenya Defence Forces in an 80-year-old aircraft to go and inspect a primary school, which was under construction in a bandit infested area?”
The Wiper leader, a former Vice President, praised the KDF as a “highly professional institution” but issued a stark warning to President Ruto over potential interference in military traditions.
“We have a very professional army. Indeed, I hold the view that please William Ruto, mess around with everything else, but don’t mess around with Tonje rules, which governs succession in the military. Of course, I know the attempts to do certain things,” he added.
The Tonje rules, named after retired General Daudi Tonje, ensure rotational leadership of the CDF position among the Army, Navy, and Air Force, along with fixed term limits to promote stability and merit-based succession.
Kalonzo’s latest remarks echo demands he made shortly after the crash. In April 2025, speaking at his party’s headquarters, he called for an independent commission of inquiry, highlighting the extraordinary protection afforded to the CDF and President.
“There are two people in Kenya who are given extraordinary protection. The first person is the President (William Ruto), and the second person is the CDF. You don’t play with those people,” Kalonzo said at the time.
“Bringing down a plane of a CDF is not only negligence but also criminal negligence. You cannot give any excuse for that. That is why we still demand an independent commission of inquiry to know what happened to him.”
He even dared investigators, stating: “People are saying that I should go to the DCI and make a statement. Tell him (DCI boss) to issue me with the summons. We shall all go there. We shall ask basic questions because it is not the work of the CDF to go and inspect schools.”
An official KDF investigation report, released in April 2025, attributed the crash to engine malfunction. It stated: “Based on facts and evidence gathered… the Board of Inquiry is of the opinion that the Bell UH-1H-II (Huey) Helicopter KAF 1501 crashed due to engine malfunction.”
The report ruled out pilot error, bad weather, or other factors, leading to updates in Kenya Air Force procedures.
Despite the findings, Kalonzo’s persistent allegations have sparked political backlash in recent weeks, with some ruling party figures calling for him to record a statement with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
The renewed controversy comes amid ongoing debates over military leadership and security in Kenya’s volatile regions, nearly 20 months after the nation’s highest-ranking soldier perished in the line of duty.
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Kalonzo Musyoka Reignites Controversy by Insisting General Ogolla’s Death was ‘Deliberate’ in Explosive TV Interview