Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has called for a comprehensive public inquiry into what he describes as a troubling pattern of unresolved high-profile deaths during President William Ruto’s four-year tenure.
Speaking to the press on Tuesday while assessing the Kenya Kwanza administration’s performance, Gachagua raised a series of questions surrounding the deaths of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Chief of Defence Forces General Francis Ogolla, and Emurua Dikirr Member of Parliament Johana Ng’eno—all of which occurred within the past four years.
“There are many high profile deaths that have occurred in Kenya and they have not been resolved and Kenyans want to know what happened,” Gachagua said, framing the inquiry as a matter of national accountability and public confidence.
Gachagua directed a series of specific questions at the circumstances of Odinga’s death, suggesting irregularities in medical oversight and funeral arrangements that departed from Luo cultural traditions.
He asked why Odinga’s personal medical doctors were denied access to him in his final hours and why physicians from Nairobi West Hospital were present instead.
He also highlighted the contradiction between Odinga’s known adherence to Luo customs and the decision to bury him within three days.
“Why were the medical doctors for the late prime minister denied access to him in his last hours? And why were doctors from Nairobi West hospital with him and not his own doctors,” he asked.
Gachagua further questioned the absence of a postmortem examination, Odinga’s reported travel to India on a private jet despite alleged advice against travel from his personal physician.
He also question whether President Ruto was an executor of Odinga’s will. He also raised concerns about the swift takeover of ODM party leadership before Odinga’s burial had concluded.
“Was Ruto anywhere an executor of Raila’s will? And why was there no postmortem done on the body of Raila Odinga?”
Turning to the death of MP Johana Ng’eno, Gachagua presented what he described as intelligence pointing to a possible sabotage scenario involving contaminated fuel in the helicopter crash.
According to Gachagua, after Ng’eno was dropped at Endebes, the helicopter proceeded to refuel at Eldoret airstrip.
He alleged that the fuel had been transported to the site from Lodwar by pickup truck and that vigilant officials had noticed the vehicle, impounded it, and questioned the driver.
“On the fateful day after Ng’eno was dropped off at Endebes, the helicopter went to fuel in Eldoret. The pilot did not know that the fuel he was about to take had been transported to the scene from Lodwar,” Gachagua claimed.
He further alleged that both a Kenya Revenue Authority official and a police officer who questioned the driver received instructions from Nairobi to release him, if they valued their lives.
Gachagua raised the possibility that the transported fuel may have caused mechanical failure at high altitude.
“The KRA official and the police officer who questioned the man received instruction from Nairobi to release the driver if they cared about their lives.
Is this fuel that caused the chopper not to pick at high altitudes?” he asked, calling on the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority to produce CCTV footage from the airstrip on the day of the crash.
Regarding the death of CDF General Ogolla, Gachagua stressed that the officer died in active duty and that the circumstances merited full transparency from the highest levels of government.
“To date, the commander in chief has refused to release a report on the aircraft crash that killed General Ogolla. General Ogolla was not an ordinary citizen, he died in active duty,” Gachagua said, directing a question to President Ruto: “What do you know about General Ogolla’s death? Are you ready to tell the country why you allowed General Ogolla to travel in a Bell Huey helicopter with a questionable mechanical status?”
The former deputy president demanded that the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions invoke its investigative powers to launch a formal public inquest into all unresolved high-profile deaths of the past four years.
“The DPP must use his powers and begin a public inquest into these unresolved murders of the last four years,” he said, framing the demand as a response to public pressure.
