Shake-up looms in military as terms of senior officers end

Changes are looming in the military as the contract of Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) Chief of Staff Gen Samson Mwathethe ends in the next few weeks, the Nation has established.

The anticipated military shake-up will also see changes in the appointment and promotion of senior military officers and possible retirement or extension of contracts of Kenya Army, Kenya Navy and Kenya Air Force commanders.

Last year, President Uhuru Kenyatta extended the contract of Kenya Navy Commander Maj-Gen Levi Mghalu for an extra one year.

KENYA AIRFORCE

Other positions to be filled include that of Kenya Air Force deputy commander, which has been vacant since September last year following the retirement of Brig Simon Wachira.

The Nation has learnt that KDF’s most-awaited meeting for its decision-making body, Board One, will be held anytime from this month to consider promotions in the most senior military ranks.

Although the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) Act is silent on the extension of contracts of senior military officers upon the expiry of their tenures, military experts say such powers are vested with the Commander-in-Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces.

“The Chief of the Defence Forces, the Vice Chief of the Defence Forces and the Service Commanders shall serve for a single term of four years or retire upon the attaining of the mandatory retirement age, whichever comes first,” the KDF Act reads.

Whereas it is standard military practice across the globe to allow the Head of State the discretion to extend the contracts of the military chief and service commanders, former military boss Gen Daudi Tonje helped streamline the structure and tenure when the terms and conditions of service for military officers were reviewed.

NON-RENEWABLE TERM
The rules put in place by Gen Daudi Tonje state that the CDF serves only a non-renewable term of four years or retires at 62, whichever comes first.
However, citing exemplary performance, President Kenyatta last year extended Gen Mwathethe’s tenure by one year after he had served four years in office.

This came after the national defence council recommended the extension.

Under Gen Mwathethe, the military has been contributing to President Kenyatta’s Big Four agenda, especially through the Blue Economy Roadmap, which the general chairs, and the construction of the ambitious Kenya Navy slipway, a project to build and restore the serviceability of sea vessels.
KDF also runs a food-processing factory in Gilgil where they produce various food products.

The Kenya Navy slipway, which is being built at Mkunguni in the Mtongwe Navy Base and which is expected to be completed by 2021, will enable Kenya to establish a foothold in shipbuilding and to compete with similar facilities in South Africa and Djibouti.

Gen Mwathethe has also been spearheading the ongoing modernisation of the military through various multibillion-shilling investments that include plans to set up the Air Defence Regiment (ADR) and acquiring an effective Air Defence System (ADS).

MODERNISATION

Further modernisation in the ranks of the Kenya Air Force includes the acquisition of Fennec helicopters, 530F planes and the Italian Spartan aircraft C-27J for transport.

KDF is also expected to open Gen Mwathethe’s brainchild, the ultra-modern rehabilitation centre that will treat soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD).

The centre, located at the 7 Kenya Rifles in Lang’ata Barracks, will be the DOD’s largest psychosocial health facility.

Modelled on best practices by militaries around the world, the centre will be a transition point for patients who have received physical treatment for trauma, injury or substance abuse and also provide counselling for soldiers undergoing cross training.

KDF has also invested in a welfare programme that attends to the needs of soldiers and their families.