Commander, Kenya Army

The Commander, Kenya Army is the senior officer of the Kenya Army, part of the Kenya Defence Forces.

Since independence in 1963 the office has been held by:

  • Major General Ian Freeland, British Army, 1963–64. Freeland was General Officer Commanding, East Africa Command, from 1 November 1963[1] until 28 November 1964, by which time the appointment had been renamed GOC, British Land Forces Kenya.[2]
  • Brigadier A J (John) Hardy, British Army, May 1964-November 1966.[3]
  • Brigadier Joseph Ndolo, 1966-May 1969[4] later promoted to Major General as Chief of General Staff)
  • Major General Jackson Mulinge, circa 1971[5]-1978[6]
  • Major General J K Nzioka
  • Lt General J M (John) Sawe[7]
  • Major General Mahamoud Mohamed
  • Lt General James L Lenges, 1988 - ; also serving as Commander 4th Brigade (Kenya) during the 1982 Kenyan coup d'état attempt[8]
  • Lt General Daniel Tonje (also rendered as Daudi Tonje, first commander of 66 Artillery Battalion)[9]
  • Lt General A K Cheruiyot
  • Lt General A A Adan
  • Lt General L K Sumbeiywo
  • Lt General J M Kianga (2003-)
  • Lt General A S K Njoroge
  • Lt General Jackson Tuwei

There are conflicting reports about the succession to General Tuwei. The Yearbook, backed by The Nation, writes that Tuwei was succeeded by Lt Gen Njuki Mwaniki in November 2010.[10] Other sources, such as Intelligencebriefs.com & the official KDF site, write that Tuwei was succeeded by Lt Gen Joseph Kasaon.

After that point the appointment has also been held by Lieutenant General Leonard Ngondi.

Lieutenant General Walter Raria took up the post in July 2018.[11]

References
  1. "No. 43173". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 November 1963. p. 9901.
  2. "No. 43598". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 March 1965. p. 2619.
  3. Poppy Cullen (2017). "Operation Binnacle: British plans for military intervention against a 1965 coup in Kenya". The International History Review. 39 (5).
  4. Hornsby, Charles (2012). Kenya: A History Since Independence. London/New York: I. B. Tauris. p. 180. ISBN 978-1-84885-886-2.
  5. Opande 2019, p. 67.
  6. Kenya Yearbook 2010
  7. Daniel Opande (2019). In Pursuit of Peace in Africa. East African Educational Publishers. p. 77. ISBN 9966564314.
  8. https://www.nation.co.ke/lifestyle/1190-147856-gifssdz/index.html
  9. Kenya Yearbook 2010, pp432.
  10. https://www.nation.co.ke/news/New-Kenya-military-bosses-appointed/1056-1060676-il8gk/index.html
  11. Cliff Munda (September 2018). "Kenya Army Gets New Commander". Nairobi: Hivisasa.com. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
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