President Uhuru Kenyatta has promoted one of his former aide-de-camp to the rank of Major General in the army as he made changes in the Kenya Defence Forces.
On Thursday, April 30, Kenyatta appointed Brigadier Peter Mbogo Njiru as the Commandant at Kenya Military Academy, Lanet, Nakuru County.
Njiru served under former President Mwai Kibaki and under Kenyatta in his first term as president before being promoted to Commandant at the Recruits Training School (RTS ) in Eldoret in 2017.
"Further, on the advice of the Defence Council, chaired by Defence Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma, I upheld the council's recommendation for the promotion," Kenyatta announced in the statement released by Ministry of Defence Deputy Director of Public Communications Bogita Ongeri.
At Lanet, Major General Njiru will be in charge of military training and education.
He will take cadet officers through a rigorous three-year training program that involves academic as well as character development, before being commissioned by the president or the chief of defence forces.
Njiru was replaced with Lt. Colonel Victor Mburu as Kenyatta's aide in 2017.
"The period of which the aide-de-camp will serve will depend on several issues, including age, but most of them serve in that capacity for three years,” Ongeri stated in 2017.
Mburu was later on replaced by Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Stelu Lekolol, who became Kenyatta's third and current personal assistant.
In the changes made by Kenyatta on Thursday night, April 30, Lieutenant General Robert Kariuki Kibochi was appointed as the new chief of defence forces, taking over from Samson Mwathethe who served for 42 years in the military.
"Finally, let me say, I look forward to working with these officers closely in service to our motherland. For you, General Mwathethe, I wish you fair winds following seas; and the very best in your future endeavours," President Kenyatta stated.
