Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has eulogised late Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) General Francis Ogolla as a man who was kind, humble and amiable.
Remembering how he was a beneficiary of Ogolla's kindness, the DP said back in February, the former surprised him during his birthday.
Gachagua, who celebrated his 59th birthday on February 28, said he was in his office when he got a report that the CDF wanted to see him.
Speaking during the military honours and memorial service at Ulinzi Sports Centre, the DP said he could not understand the nature of such a request, since he and Ogolla had no appointment for the day.
Explaining that in ordinary circumstances a surprise call on by the CDF can elicit panic, the second in-commander stated that he stopped what he was doing and admitted the General in.
"The General was holding a big card and he said he had come to wish me happy birthday," he added, "I was not even aware it was my birthday".
Despite being a tough commander celebrated for various accomplishments, Gachagua said, Ogolla was a humorous man.
"He was full of very good jokes and many a times in tense situations, he would make everybody feel comfortable," he added.
He said Ogolla will keep them entertained with his storytelling skills, while at the airport either waiting welcome or see President William Ruto off to his foreign flights.
In one such moments, President Ruto had flown out and Gachagua was in a hurry to leave the airport when Ogolla told him he should await his orders to do so.
"I do remember one such day when you (Ruto) left and we were in hurry to leave as you took off and he told me 'Mr Deputy President it is good for me to inform you that when you are in a military facility and the Commander-In-Chief is away, I am the senior most military officer here and all of you take orders from me and you only leave when I tell you so," Gachagua narrated.
He added that they obeyed the orders and after a while, General Ogolla gave them the greenlight to leave the airport.
"That was the tradition for the days we stayed with General Ogolla."
His words echoed the statement of Ogolla's son Joel Omondi, who said his father was a happy man with a cheeky smile.
"General is in a good place, those of you who knew General and his sister Peris, they have a very cheeky smile on their face when they are doing something cheeky, I tell you General is resting right now with a cheeky smile," he said during a prayer on Friday.
Ogolla and nine other military officers died on Thursday after a military chopper crashed at Kaben in Tot subcounty in Marakwet East.
