ABOUT MOD
The Ministry is headed by the Cabinet Secretary who is responsible to the President and Commander – in – Chief and Parliament on matters of policy. The Cabinet Secretary is appointed by the President and chairs the Defence Council which is responsible for the overall control and direction of the Kenya Defence Forces.
The promulgation of the new Constitution 2010 created the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) to be headed by the Chief of the Defence Forces (CDF). The Chief of the Defence Forces (CDF) is the professional head of the three Kenya Defence Forces Services and the Principal Military Advisor to the Commander – in – Chief.
The CDF is the principal advisor to the President and Cabinet Secretary on any military, operational and administrative matters within the competence of the Chief of the Defence Forces. Subject to the general direction of the Defence Council chaired by the Cabinet Secretary, the CDF is responsible for the control, direction and general superintendence of the Defence Forces.
The Principal Secretary is the accounting and authorized officer on financial and administration matters of the Ministry of Defence. He/she is also personally accountable to Parliament for the expenditures of all public moneys provided for the Ministry of Defence.
The Executive Order No. 2 of May 2013 (Revised May 2020) created the Ministry of Defence. The work of the Ministry of Defence is informed by the Constitution of the Republic. The Ministry is obliged to facilitate and support the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) in the discharge of their mandate under Article 241 (3) (a), (b) & (c) of the Constitution, in order to ensure that KDF, which is the Ministry’s technical arm achieves its vision to be ‘a premier, credible and mission capable force deeply rooted in professionalism’.
Civilians who work in the Ministry play a complementary role to enable the KDF concentrate on their core functions. Over the years, the civilian personnel strength rose from 200 people in 1961 to over 2000 human resource in 2020. They provide different services in support of the Defence Forces ranging from Policy, Administration, Financial Management, Public Communications to Human Resource Management, Medical and Technical Services.
ORGANIZATION OF MOD HQS
