Departed Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) General Francis Ogolla will be buried on Sunday, April 21, 2024.
The remains of the late Ogolla landed at the Kisumu International Airport at around 8:15 am, from where the journey to his rural home in Siaya started by road.
The remains will be driven to Obama K’Ogello Primary School in Ngi’ya Village where a mass will be held.
The mass will be followed by a procession leading to Ogolla’s home in Mor Village, where the General will be laid to rest in a private ceremony.
The interment rites at the gravesite will entail three military rites including.
Reveille – The term, originally from the French word Le Réveil, is a wake-up call for the military done using a trumpet, drum, fife-and-drum or pipes. It is used to wake up the military at sunrise.
Last post – The rite is an end-of-duty mournful tune played at the end of one’s service.
19-gun salute – The salute will be aimed to honour the General’s close to 40-year career at the military.
President William Ruto and other top leaders will be in attendance.
Ogolla’s wishes
According to his family, Ogolla had indicated in his will that he should be buried within 72 hours after his death.
On Saturday, Ogolla’s son, Joel Omondi, announced that his father’s body would be wrapped in sheets before being laid to the ground, according to his will.
Addressing mourners at the Ulinzi Sports Complex Stadium in Lang’ata on Saturday, Omondi likened the burial to that of Jesus Christ saying the process will make him return to dust as quickly as possible.
“Mzee lying over here the casket he is lying in is a very simple mbao ambayo hata haijapigwa randa, it is very rough I’ve just been told it actually cost Ksh6,800 hii mambo mingi ya casket ati mtu mkubwa Ksh500K…Ksh1 million, his essence of spirit is no longer with us, this is a body that he served our country with and now it’s finished,” he said.
“Let me address rumours that I have been seeing on social media of guys asking if he was Muslim, your excellency as you know Jesus himself how was buried, he was buried in a sheet and put in a tomb right now mzee is wearing the uniform he donned for the function but tomorrow we will be wrapping him in the sheets, we will extract him from the casket and lay him in the ground so that he can return to dust as quickly as possible,” he said.
Ogolla tragically lost his life in a chopper crash on Thursday, April 18, 2024.
The general was accompanied by 11 other military personnel; nine who also passed on with him and two survivors when the helicopter crashed in Chesegon, an area between West Pokot and Elgeiyo Marakwet Counties.
The nine other officers killed in the crash were Brigadier Swale Saidi, Colonel Duncan Keittany, Lieutenant Colonel David Sawe, Major George Benson Magondu, Captain Sora Mohamed, Captain Hillary Litali, Senior Sergeant John Kinyua Mureithi, Sergeant Cliphonce Omondi, and Sergeant Rose Nyawira.
