New defence chief must reassure jittery Kenyans

New defence chief, General Julius Karangi, takes office at a time of heightened public scrutiny of the armed forces over claims of fraudulent procurement, tribalism and a widely held view that the institution has failed to secure national borders.

In the recent past, the procurement process at the Department of Defence (DoD) has been the subject of debate in Parliament, with MPs describing it as “corrupt and rotten”.

The House questioned recent procurement deals in which 42 AMR Parhard Light Armoured cars were single sourced from a South African company.

Also questioned was the acquisition and delivery of second hand F5 fighter jets from Jordan with claims that they failed take-off tests. The MPs were of the opinion that the tendering processes were fraudulent and taxpayers’ money was lost.

Most recently, Parliament’s Defence and Foreign Relations Committee investigated tendering of the Sh1.2 billion construction project for phase two of the Kenya Military Academy at Lanet.

Reports tabled before the Committee imply that Chief of General Staff Jeremiah Kianga ordered junior officers to repeat the tender process and refused to endorse it.

“The General should act quickly and urgently to ensure the military gets good deals in the procurement. It’s an area which has a problem,” said Capt (rtd) Simiyu Werunga.

Senior officers told the Sunday Nation that the new Chief of Defence Forces would be looked upon to get to the root of corruption allegations dogging the military and making the tendering and procurement process more competitive and transparent.

Killed Kenyans

On security, MPs accused the military of laxity after Ethiopian raiders crossed into Kenya in May and killed at least 20 Kenyans in Turkana.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga told the House that Ethiopian tribesmen occupy part of Kenya. He claimed that up to 2,500 Ethiopians are tilling land in the River Omo Delta in Kenya. Bloody raids have also been carried out by Toposa raiders from South Sudan.

Al-Shabaab terror groups from Somalia pose the biggest threat and Gen Karangi takes over at a time the military is upgrading some of its units at the border with Somalia. The US Government is to provide $14.1 million (Sh1.26 billion), allocated to Kenya in its budget proposals for next year, mainly to boost border operations.

The US documents posted on the State Department’s website show the defence upgrade would shield Kenya in the event of an “exploding Sudan and imploding Somalia”.

General Karangi also takes over at a time when promotion and deployment criteria for serving officers are reportedly a source of discontent within the barracks. Recruitment of soldiers and cadet officers is also cited as “a thorny issue” vital in restoring confidence, according to sources who requested anonymity lest they are penalised for breaking force protocol.

“There is disquiet by the personnel. They feel that some of their colleagues are considered for promotions because they are from certain tribes.

The privileged ones are also deployed to lucrative areas, like defence attaches in countries in Europe,” Captain (rtd) Werunga said.
Section 241 of the Constitution reads in part: “The composition of the command of the Defence Forces shall reflect the regional and ethnic diversity of the people of Kenya.”

Gen Karangi is also expected to oversee political transition after President Kibaki retires next year.