After President Uhuru Kenyatta's ascension to power in 2013, his appointments to strategic positions in government have appeared to be biased towards Kenyans who served or have previously served in either the military or the intelligence service.
This appears to be very deliberate of the president to put his trust in people formerly serving in the forces due to their high discipline and being accustomed to following instructions promptly.
Kenyatta’s trend to appoint members of disciplined forces seems to have begun in the aftermath of the September 21, 2013, terrorist attack at Westgate Mall which left 70 people dead, as suggested in a report by The Standard in December 2018.
Some of the senior offices occupied by former members of either the military or intelligence service include the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC), Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA), Financial Reporting Centre (FRC), National Social Security Fund (NSSF), Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) and the Kenya Coast Guard Service (KCGS).
In August 2014, Kenyatta appointed Retired Major-General Gordon Kilhalangwa to fix the Immigration Department following demonstrated concerns over Kenya's porous borders and their contribution to increased terror attacks in the country.
Kihalangwa retired from the military in 2013 after serving in major positions including Head of the Military Police and Assistant Chief of Defence Forces.
He was appointed to replace Jane Waikenda who had served as a diplomat and was later posted to Kenya's embassy in Pretoria, South Africa.
In June 2016, Kenyatta appointed former Chief of Defence Forces Joseph Karangi as the chairman at the Kenya Airports Authority before re-appointing him as a non-executive chairman to the board of the National Hospital Insurance Fund NHIF.
In October 2018, Maj (Rtd) George Nyamoko, was picked by Kenyatta and given the role of heading the Kenya Maritime Authority as the Director-General.
Nyamoko replaced Nancy Karigithu, a maritime lawyer and graduate of the University of Nairobi who had led the maritime authority in an acting capacity.
Captain Gilbert Kibe who also served at the military was appointed the Director General at the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority.
Before his appointment, Captain Kibe was serving at the Kenya Airforce as a trained pilot who had overseas training in military warfare.
In May 2019, former KDF spokesman Colonel Cyrus Oguna was appointed as the government spokesman replacing Eric Kiraithe who was transferred to the Airports security department.
Others who served in the military and were appointed in various bodies include NTSA Chairman Lt Gen (Rtd) Jackson Waweru, Kenya Railways Corporation Chairman Gen (Rtd) Jeremiah Kianga and KPA Chairman Gen (Rtd) Joseph Kibwana.
Spies
On March 2018, the president appointed Noordin Haji as the Director of Public Prosecutions. Prior to his appointment, Haji worked at the National Intelligence Service (NIS) as the deputy director of investigations.
Haji replaced Keriako Tobiko, a University of Cambridge law graduate who is now serving as the Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Environment.
In August 2018, Twalib Mbarak who also served at the National Intelligence Service was appointed to head the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
Alexander Muteshi, who earlier worked as the NIS director of counter-terrorism was also appointed as the director of Immigration Services in July 2018.
Muteshi replaced retired Major-General Gordon Kihaangwa who was appointed as the principal secretary in the Ministry of Defence in September 2019.
