| Commander, Kenya Army | |
|---|---|
 Flag of Kenya Army | |
 Kenya Army | |
| Reports to | Chief of Defence Forces |
| Appointer | the President |
| Formation | 12 December 1963 |
| First holder | Ian Freeland |
| Deputy | Deputy Army Commander |
The Commander, Kenya Army is the chief and highest-ranking officer of the Kenya Army The current commander is Lieutenant general David Kimaiyo Tarus
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||
| 1 | Major General Ian Freeland (1912–1979) | 12 December 1963 | 30 April 1964 | 140 days | [1] [2] | |
| 2 | Brigadier A. J. Hardy | 1 May 1964 | 30 November 1966 | 2 years, 213 days | [3] [2] | |
| 3 | Brigadier Joseph Musyimi Lele Ndolo | 1 December 1966 | 31 May 1969 | 2 years, 181 days | [4] [2] | |
| 4 | Major General Jackson Mulinge (1924–2014) | 1 June 1969 | 22 November 1978 | 9 years, 144 days | [5] [6] [2] | |
| 5 | Major General Joseph Kathuka Nzioka | 1 December 1978 | 12 December 1979 | 1 year, 11 days | [2] | |
| 6 | Major General John Malan Sawe | 13 December 1979 | 2 January 1981 | 1 year, 20 days | [2] [7] | |
| 7 | Major General Mahamoud Mohamed | 3 January 1981 | 14 December 1981 | 346 days | [2] | |
| 8 | Lieutenant General John M. Sawe | 15 December 1981 | 27 February 1986 | 4 years, 74 days | [2] | |
| 9 | Lieutenant General James Lelasian Lengees | 28 February 1986 | 30 November 1993 | 7 years, 275 days | [2] [8] | |
| 10 |  | Lieutenant General Daniel Rerimoi Chepkonga Tonje | 1 December 1993 | 22 June 1994 | 203 days | [2] [9] |
| 11 | Lieutenant General Augustine K. Cheruiyot | 28 June 1994 | 7 June 1998 | 3 years, 344 days | [2] | |
| 12 | Lieutenant General Adan Abdullahi | 9 June 1998 | 30 November 2000 | 2 years, 174 days | [2] | |
| 13 | Lieutenant General Lazarus K. Sumbeiywo | 1 December 2000 | 28 February 2003 | 2 years, 89 days | [2] | |
| 14 | Lieutenant General Jeremiah Kianga EGH , CBS , ndc (K) , cgsc (USA) | 1 March 2003 | 10 August 2005 | 2 years, 162 days | [2] | |
| 15 |  | Lieutenant General Augostino Stephen Karanu Njoroge MGH , CBS , ndc (K) , psc | 10 August 2005 | 5 December 2008 | 3 years, 117 days | [2] |
| 16 | Lieutenant General Jackson Kiprono Tuwei | 5 December 2008 | 30 November 2010 | 1 year, 360 days | [2] [10] | |
| 17 |  | Lieutenant General Njuki Mwaniki MGH , CBS , OGW , ndc (K) , psc | 30 November 2010 | 13 July 2011 | 225 days | [10] [11] |
| 18 | Lieutenant General Joseph Kiptoo Kasaon MGH , CBS , DCO , ndc (K) , psc , cgsc (USA) (born 1958) | 13 July 2011 | 17 April 2015 | 3 years, 278 days | [2] [11] | |
| 19 | Lieutenant General Leonard Muriuki Ngondi MGH , CBS , OGW , ndc (K) , psc (born 1959) | 17 April 2015 | 22 September 2016 | 1 year, 158 days | [2] | |
| 20 |  | Lieutenant General Robert Kariuki Kibochi EGH , CBS , ndc (K) , psc (born 1959) | 22 September 2016 | 13 July 2018 | 1 year, 294 days | [2] [12] |
| 21 |  | Lieutenant General Walter Koipaton Raria MGH , CBS , OGW , ndc (K) , psc | 13 July 2018 | 20 July 2022 | 4 years, 7 days | [13] |
| 22 | Lieutenant General Peter Mbogo Njiru MGH, CBS ‘rcds’ (UK) ‘psc’ (K) | 20 July 2022 | 8 march 2024 | 1 year, 288 days | [14] | |
| 23 | Lieutenant General David Kimaiyo Chemwaina TarusCBS ‘ndc’ (K) ‘cgsc’ (USA) ‘psc’ (K) | 9 march 2024 | incumbent | [15] | ||
The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) are the armed forces of the Republic of Kenya. They are made up of the Kenya Army, Kenya Navy, and Kenya Air Force. The current KDF was established, and its composition stipulated, in Article 241 of the 2010 Constitution of Kenya; it is governed by the KDF Act of 2012. Its main mission is the defence and protection of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Kenya, recruitment to the KDF is done on yearly basis. The President of Kenya is the commander-in-chief of the KDF, and the Chief of Defence Forces is the highest-ranking military officer, and the principal military adviser to the President of Kenya.
Field Marshal Peter Anthony Inge, Baron Inge, was a senior British Army officer. He was the Chief of the General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, from 1992 to 1994 and then served as Chief of the Defence Staff before retiring in 1997. Early in his military career he saw action during the Malayan Emergency and Operation Banner in Northern Ireland, and later in his career he provided advice to the British Government during the Bosnian War.
Field Marshal Charles Ronald Llewelyn Guthrie, Baron Guthrie of Craigiebank, is a retired senior officer of the British Army who served as Chief of the General Staff from 1994 to 1997 and Chief of the Defence Staff from 1997 until his retirement in 2001.
The 1982 Kenyan coup d'état attempt was a failed attempt to overthrow President Daniel arap Moi's government. At 3 A.M. on Sunday, 1 August 1982, a group of soldiers from the Kenya Air Force took over Eastleigh Air Base just outside Nairobi, and by 4 A.M. the nearby Embakasi air base had also fallen. At 6 A.M. Senior Private Hezekiah Ochuka and Sergeant Pancras Oteyo Okumu captured the Voice of Kenya radio station in central Nairobi, from where they then broadcast in English and Swahili that the military had overthrown the government. Working at the behest of Ochuka, Corporal Bramwel Injeni Njereman was leading a plot to bomb the State House and the General Service Unit headquarters from the Laikipia Air Base, Nanyuki. Corporal Njereman forced three pilots to fly two F-5E Tiger jets and a Strikemaster that would be used for the mission. However, Major Mutua was aware that Corporal Njereman had never flown a jet fighter before and would likely not be able to cope with the g-forces. The pilots, while communicating on a secret channel, agreed to execute daring manoeuvres to disorient their captor. The trick worked. The pilots dumped the bombs in Mt. Kenya forest and headed back to Nanyuki.
This page lists Foreign Ministers of Kenya:
The Kenya Police Service is a national body in charge of law enforcement in Kenya. It is subordinate to National Police Service which is headed by Inspector General of Police who exercises independent command over the Service. Kenya Police is headed by Deputy Inspector General. Kenya Police is divided into Service Headquarters in Nairobi, Formations, General Duty Commands and Training Institutions.
Babafemi Olatunde Ogundipe was the de facto second-in-command and first Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters from January 1966 to August 1966 during Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi's military regime. He was Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from September 1966 to August 1970 during General Yakubu Gowon's military regime.
Major General Mohammed Hussein Ali is a Kenyan military commander. He was formerly commissioner of the Kenya Police. He is currently chief executive of the Postal Corporation of Kenya.
General Sir James Rupert Everard, is a retired senior British Army officer who served as NATO's Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
The Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) is the highest-ranking military officer in the Kenya Defence Forces and the principal military adviser to the President of Kenya and the National Security Council. The CDF outranks all respective heads of each service branch and has operational command authority over the service branches. He leads the meetings and coordinates the efforts of the Service Commander, comprising the CDF, the Commander of the Kenya Army and Kenya Air Force, Kenya Navy and the Commandant of Military Intelligence. The CDF has offices in Ulinzi House. Following the 2010 Constitution, the Chief of the General Staff was replaced with the Chief of the Defence Forces.
The Kenya Army is the land arm of the Kenya Defence Forces.
Daniel Ishmael Opande is a retired Kenyan military officer, who rose to the rank of Lieutenant General in the Kenyan Army.
The units of the Kenya Army Infantry are the principal fighting arms of the Kenya Army. The primary mission of the Infantry formations is to fight and win land battles within area of operational responsibilities in the defence of the nation against land – based aggression, while the secondary mission is the provision of aid and support to civil authorities in the maintenance of order. The Kenyan School of Infantry (SOI) is located in Isiolo County.
Julius Waweru Karangi is a retired military officer from Kenya who was Chief of the General Staff of the Kenya Defence Forces from 2011 until 2015.
The Kenya Army Band is the primary military musical unit in the Kenya Army and by extension Kenya Defence Forces. From independence it was the only band in the Kenya Defence Forces until 1985 when the Kenya Air Force Band was formed and later in 1999 when the Kenya Navy Band was formed. All members of the band also play their primary role as Infantry Branch, with many having been deployed on various peace keeping missions, Somalia and South Sudan.
The Kenya Navy Band is the sole musical unit in the Kenya Navy and one of three state-sponsored military bands in the Kenya Defence Forces.
Lieutenant General Walter Koipaton Raria, is a Kenyan military officer. Between July 2018 and July 2022, he served as the Commander Kenya Army, a service branch of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).
Zachariah Kìnùthia, popularly known as Zack Kìnùthia, was the Chief Administrative Secretary, Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage between January 2020 and February 2022 when he resigned. He is also a former chairman of Student Organization of Nairobi University (SONU).
Lieutenant General Peter Mbogo Njiru, is a Kenyan military officer, who serves as the Commander, Kenya Army, since July 2022. The Kenya Army is a service branch of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF). Before his present assignment, General Njiru was the commander of the Kenya Joint Command and Staff College, at the rank of Major General.
