The choices are limited. They have to look into tribal balance and the norm in the military.
Vice Chief of Defence Forces Lt Gen Charles Muriu Kahariri is now acting as the CDF ahead of a planned council meeting to discuss the issue of succession and decide the way forward.
Former Chief of General Staff Gen Daudi Tonje who made some of the rules guiding succession in the military told journalists at his Kitale home the President as the Commander-in-Chief will make a decision based on the recommendations of the council.
“There is no vacuum in the service for now and the President will decide the next CDF when he is advised,” he said.
As it stands Gen Ogolla and the Kenya Air Force (KAF) at large had not completed their term as the CDF.
Based on this, the council could have had an option of letting the KAF complete their years in rotation but there is no Lt General in their ranks for now and their senior most is a Major General - John Omeda - who is the current service commander.
Technically he cannot jump a rank to a general and it would mean retiring many others ahead of him.
Officials say this now shifts the focus to the Navy who were poised to succeed Gen Ogolla if and when he retired from the service.
Currently the Navy has two Lt Generals - Jimson Mutai and Kahariri - while the Navy service commander is a Major General Thomas Ng'ang'a.
Lt Gen Mutai is the current chief of the National Defence University while Lt Gen Kahariri is the VCDF.
Going by the Kenya Defence Forces traditions, for one to be appointed the CDF he or she must have served as a service commander.
Lt Gen Mutai served as the service commander for the Navy before being promoted and appointed to the NDU, while Lt Gen Muriu has never served as a service commander. He once served as the deputy Navy commander.
The issue of one having served as a service commander played out during the appointment of Gen Ogolla to be CDF.
Then, the Airforce had Lt Gen Mohammed Badi and Lt Gen Francis Ogolla. Lt Gen Badi had not served as a service commander so he was knocked out leaving President Ruto with only Gen Ogolla as the only option for the CDF.
Officials say in the most unlikely event, the Tonje rules and traditions may be ignored since they are not laws; there are other Lt. Generals in the Kenya Army - David Kimaiyo Tarus, Alphaxard Kiungu and Juma Shee.
And if the rule of one having served as a service commander, it is only Lt. Gen Kimaiyo, who is a candidate for CDF having served as the current service commander for the Kenya Army.
According to insiders and based on the past rules, the council and the President have two options if push comes to shove and that is Lt Gen Mutai or Lt Gen Tarus.
The recently announced changes in the military had sparked succession speculation in and outside the institution.
This follows the changes announced on March 8 by the council after a meeting.
(KDF) Act says a CDF, his deputy and service commanders shall serve a single term of four years or retire upon attaining the mandatory retirement age.
But the Act also says the President may, on the recommendation of the National Defence Council, extend the CDF’s term for a period not exceeding one year in times of war or emergencies like political uncertainty.
A general is supposed to retire at 62, a Lieutenant-General at 61, a Major-General at 59 and a Brigadier at 57 years.
However, the law puts a disclaimer on the general that: “The maximum retirement age shall be amended from time to time through legislation on the recommendation by the Defence Council.”
Under the rules introduced by Gen (retired) Tonje — adopted and known as the Tonje Rules — the position of the CDF is rotated among the three services.
These are Kenya Army, Kenya Air Force and Kenya Navy.
Gen Ogolla is from the Kenya Airforce and his predecessor, Gen Robert Kibochi, was from the Kenya Army.
This means that the next CDF must come from the Kenya Navy.
On March 8, the military announced changes among some of their top command, which saw the Vice Chief of Defence Forces Lt Gen Jonah Mwangi retired. He was nominated to be the Kenyan ambassador to Iran.
Gen Ogolla died in a plane crash on April 18 alongside nine other military personnel, sparking the speculations and lobbying.
The helicopter accident was the first of its the kind to affect a sitting CDF.
Among the dead were Brig Swale Saidi, Col Duncan Keittany, Lt Col David Sawe, Major George Benson Magondu, Capt Sora Mohamed, Capt Hillary Litali, Senior Sergeant John Kinyua Mureithi, Sergeant Cliphonce Omondi and Sergeant Rose Nyawira.
The CDF, onboard the KAF Huey Helicopter, had left Nairobi Thursday morning, to visit troops deployed in the North Rift under Operation Maliza Uhalifu, and to inspect the ongoing school renovations works in Chesitet Primary School, Cheptulel Boys High School, Chepoton Primary School, Ksaa Primary School and Sablimoi Primary School.
Ruto said the CDF had been briefed on the security situation by a multi-agency team stationed at Chesitet in Baringo county, after which he proceeded to the Kainuk Forward Operating Base in Turkana county, where he addressed troops, commending them for their resilience and operational successes.
The CDF and his entourage departed from Kainuk to Chesegon, West Pokot county, where he launched the rehabilitation of Cheptulel Boys High School.
He then departed to Chesegon for the Recruits Training School in Uasin Gishu county, where he was scheduled to inspect construction facilities at the institution.
The aircraft crashed shortly after take-off.
