Alego Usonga MP has faulted President William Ruto for unfairly linking Chief of Defence Forces Francis Ogolla to an alleged attempt to overturn his victory last year.
The MP said the President erred by claiming that Ogolla was at the centre of a scheme to quash the election will of Kenyans, saying that could damage the reputation.
“To discuss the issue of Bomas and link them to General Ogola, I think that is an error where President Ruto has lost it a bit. This whole issue of Bomas, whether it happened or didn’t happen, we need to move away from it,” Atandi said on Monday.
During a live interview with major TV stations on Sunday evening, Ruto revealed how he ignored his allies to pick Ogolla despite attempting to block his victory in the August 9, 2022 polls.
"General Ogolla is among the people who went to Bomas to try and overturn my victory but because when I looked at his CV, he was the best person to be General. Many things that are part of my system over-weighed what he had done," Ruto said.
"I could have appointed anybody I had I think 10 choices, people say that I appointed Ogolla because he was the deputy CDF, but that is not the case. I made the decision consciously and I made it against the advice of many people."
But Atandi claimed that Ruto's claims could damage Ogolla's reputation and even attract disrespect from his juniors in the military.
"Ogola is competently in office and the fact that he was made chief of the defence forces is something that we celebrate. The president should not continue to make such utterances that spoil Ogola’s reputation," Atandi said in an interview with Citizen TV on Monday.
"When you say that there are many people that could have been appointed, you are not giving him the stature that he deserves. He will sit in an office and his juniors will look at him like he is not the best."
General Ogolla was sworn in on April 29, replacing General Robert Kariuki Kibochi whose tenure lapsed.