- National Assembly Minority leader Opiyo Wandayi said two leaders have been selected to lead the probe team.
- He said families who lost their loved ones in the tragic incident should be represented in the probe team.
Image: ODM/X
Azimio has announced plans to form a joint aprliamentary probe team to investigate the death of Chief of Defence Forces General Francis Ogolla.
Ogolla passed away alongside nine other military officers in a helicopter crash on Thursday, April 18.
In the proposal presented on Tuesday, National Assembly Minority leader Opiyo Wandayi said two leaders have been selected to lead the probe team.
"The Parliamentary Group shared deep condolences to Ogolla's family and to the families of those who perished together with him," he said.
"We have authorised MP Anthony Oluoch and Senator Enoch Wambua to lead the process of establishing a joint Parliamentary Inquiry involving the Senate and the National Assembly into the unfortunate death of General Ogolla," Wandayi added.
Wandayi read the Parliamentary Group resolution after a meeting chaired by Raila Odinga at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Foundation.
He said families who lost their loved ones in the tragic incident should be represented in the probe team.
Wandayi said the PG also wants a judicial inquest formed to ensure nothing is left to chance and the probe is open to the public.
"The PG calls for a judicial inquest into the accident and death as opposed to mere investigations led by the military that are closed to civilians," he said.
While officially announcing Ogolla's death and that of other officers on Thursday, President William Ruto said KDF had constituted a team to investigate the cause of the crash.
The team is from within the Kenya Air Force and was constituted by Lt General J M Omenda, he said.
During Ogolla's burial on Sunday, Ruto said the report into the helicopter crash will be made public.
Opposition leaders who spoke at the funeral pressed the government to investigate the accident.
Siaya Senator Oburu Oginga led the calls, saying, "The death was an accident, but we have had many such accidents and assassinations. We want to know the truth.
“I want to ask our uncle [Ogolla’s son Joel Rabuku] not to be impatient with us because once bitten, twice shy. Let no stones be left unturned,” Oburu said after relaying his brother, Raila Odinga’s, condolences.
“Let us be told who killed our son…he died too soon…we lost Tom Mboya, we lost Dr Robert Ouko and the regime convinced the family to be protective..let them allow investigators to do their work,” Oburu said.
Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka said: “We have heard a team has been constituted to look into the circumstances under which the general fell. Make it public so you allay these fears. This is a national thing…the truth must come out,” Kalonzo said.
In a statement on X, Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen said his docket is only involved in probing crashes involving private and commercial aeroplanes.
"As a department of transport, we don’t investigate military planes. Our work is strictly restricted to civilian aeroplanes," he said.
"As you heard from the President yesterday (Sunday), it’s the exclusive mandate of the Kenya Defence Forces to investigate accidents involving military aircraft. My Ministry deals with purely civil aviation both private and commercial which is non-military and non-state aviation," he said on X.
Murkomen's clarification followed remarks by a section of leaders and social media claiming that he was tasked with forming the team to probe the crash.