New military boss up to the challenge

What you need to know:

  • Gen Mwathethe assumes office as the best possible candidate the Defence Council could have settled on and he brings to the position solid credentials. The clear message from the council is that it is merit that rules.
  • As we wish Gen Karangi a well-deserved rest after more than four decades of distinguished service to the country, we also welcome Gen Mwathethe to a job that will require great commitment, diligence and sheer hard work to secure the country.

The retirement of the Chief of Defence Forces, General Julius Karangi, is the continuation of a solid transition tradition in the military.

His exit paves the way for Navy boss Samson J. Mwathethe, who has been promoted from lieutenant-general to a full general, to assume the leadership of the armed forces.

This smooth succession is anchored in rules that have helped to enhance efficiency in the military. The rotation that has seen the baton passed on from the Army, when Gen Jeremiah Kianga retired and was succeeded by Gen Karangi, from the Air Force, will now see the Navy get its chance to lead this professional outfit.

The Tonje Rules, so-called in tribute to former Chief of General Staff Daudi Tonje, have helped to eliminate needless jockeying for appointment to the top position, enabling merit, expertise and talent to be considered.

BEST POSSIBLE

Gen Mwathethe assumes office as the best possible candidate the Defence Council could have settled on and he brings to the position solid credentials. The clear message from the council is that it is merit that rules.

Gen Karangi will definitely have a lot of advice for his successor, both in prepared notes and also in informal discussions. He is leaving the military at a time when the country is under siege from external aggression in the form of the Somali Al-Shabaab militants. It will be recalled that it was during his tenure that Kenyan troops were sent into Somalia in pursuit of Al-Shabaab.

Among the most immediate challenges for the new boss, therefore, is the continued deployment of KDF troops in Somalia. Another is the increasing role of the military in tackling internal affairs, while stepping up the protection of territorial borders. With the terror menace on the increase, the military cannot afford to leave it all to the police to handle.

As we wish Gen Karangi a well-deserved rest after more than four decades of distinguished service to the country, we also welcome Gen Mwathethe to a job that will require great commitment, diligence and sheer hard work to secure the country.