The Chief of the Defence Forces (CDF) is the country's highest-ranking military officer and the Principal military advisor to the President and the National Security Council.
Since Independence, Kenya has had ten military chiefs, of which seven were Chief of the General Staff, before the title was changed to the Chief of the Defence Forces under the 2010 Constitution.
Kenyans.co.ke looks at some of these military chiefs, what they did during their tenure, how they left KDF and what they are doing today:
1. Major General Joseph Kibwana (2000 to 2005)
General Joseph Kibwana joined the Kenya Navy in 1964 and was commissioned as a Lieutenant on January 1, 1967.
He served in various senior ranks in the Kenya Navy and was also Chief of Military Intelligence from 1982 to 1985.
In May 1998, he became Lieutenant General and took over as the Commandant of Kenya’s National Defence College.
He became Chief of General Staff on December 1, 2000, and served until 2005.
A career military officer, he retired as Chief of General Staff in 2005 and was appointed Chairman of Kenya Ports Authority from 2005 - 2008.
Subsequently, he served as Chairman of the Kenya Trade Network Agency from 2011 - 2014 and from 2015 - 2018.
He has also served as a Non-Executive Director on the Board of Kenya Commercial Bank from 2012 - 2017; KCB Burundi from 2013 - 2015 and as Chairman of KCB South Sudan from 2015 - June 2020.
He is an alumnus of Britannia Royal Naval College (UK), Faraday House Engineering College (UK), the US Naval Staff College and the US Naval War College.
General (Rtd) Kibwana is a member of the Institute of Directors, Kenya.
2. General Jeremiah Kianga (2005 to 2011)
General Jeremiah Mutinda Kianga joined the Armed Forces in 1971 as a Cadet Officer and was commissioned in 1973.
He served as Defence Attache, General Officer Commanding (Eastern Command), Deputy Commander and also Commander of the Kenya Army.
He served in the KDF for more than 40 years in various capacities including diplomatic, staff, command and training establishments, rising through the ranks to the top.
He was appointed the Chief of General Staff on September 1, 2005.
Gen.Kianga appeared before the commission probing the 2007/8 post-election violence and strongly defended the military’s action in quelling the post-election violence.
Kianga said he has no regrets whatsoever to make over the manner in which his soldiers handled the skirmishes.
3. Gen Julius Waweru Karangi (2011-to 2015)
Gen Karangi joined Kenya Air Force in 1973 and after Cadet training in the UK, he was commissioned as an officer in 1974.
After qualifying as a Flight Navigator in October 1975 in the Royal Air Force in England, he was posted to Flying Wing Kenya Air Force where he worked as a Navigator.
He became Commander of Kenya Air Force Moi Base in 1995, and then in 1997, he was appointed Commander of the Kenya Air Force Logistics Command.
He was promoted to the position of Commandant Defence Staff College, the rank of Major General, before he was made Commander of the Kenya Air-force between 2003-2005.
In August 2005, Karangi was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General and Vice Chief of Defence Forces, Defence Headquarters.
On 13 July 2011, he was promoted to the rank of General and appointed the position of Chief of Defence Forces.
Since leaving KDF, Karangi has served as chairman of the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA), and the National Social Security Fund.
4. General Mwathethe
General Mwathethe was born in Malindi and educated at Shimo La Tewa and Sacred Heart High Schools in Mombasa.
Mwathethe joined the Kenya Navy in April 1978 and was commissioned in 1980 as a Seaman Officer after attending Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, UK.
Samson Mwathethe served as Vice Chief of Defence Forces, a position he held immediately prior to his appointment as CDF.
He has also held command appointments in the KDF, including as (a) Commander of the Kenya Navy (b) Deputy Commander of the Kenya Navy (c) Commander of Logistics in the Kenya Navy and (d) Base Commander, Mtongwe Naval Base.
He has also served as the Chief of Systems and Procurement for the Kenya Ministry of Defence, and as a Commander on various Kenya Navy vessels.
In May 2019, President Uhuru Kenyatta extended General Mwathethe's term for another 12 months to the end of April 2020.
He was later appointed as Chairman of The Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC (KenGen).
5. General Robert Kibochi (2020 to date)
General Robert Kariuki Kibochi is the Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces following his promotion and appointment on 4 May 2020.
Gen Kibochi was enlisted into the Kenya Defence Forces on 18 May 1979 and underwent Officer Cadets Training until 30 March 1980 and commissioned in the rank of Second Lieutenant and posted to the Signals Battalion.
He has held various command and staff appointments including Vice Chief of the Defence Forces, Commander of the Kenya Army, Assistant Chief of Defence Forces in charge of Operations, Plans, Doctrine and Training at Defence Headquarters (DHQ),
Gen Kibochi has a PhD degree in Peace and Conflict Management, a Master's Degree of Arts in International Studies, a Master's Degree in Computer Based Information Systems, Bachelor of Technology in Communication and Electronics Engineering.
