Our History

Dr. Njoroge Mungai, M.D. EGH 1965-1966

In independent Kenya, Njoroge Mungai would serve

In independent Kenya, Njoroge Mungai would serve first as Minister for Health in which capacity he established Kenya’s first medical school.

He was later moved to the Defense Ministry and it was during his tenure at the Ministry that the Shifta War between Kenya and Somalia broke out. He led a mediation team to Kinshasa which resulted in the Arusha Accord of 1967, bringing a close to the conflict.

But he would gain fame during his term as Minister for Foreign Affairs. An astute diplomat, he successfully lobbied to have the United Nations Environmental Programme headquartered in Nairobi. He further successfully lobbied the OAU to supply arms to forces fighting the Apartheid regime in South Africa and the Portuguese colonial regime in Mozambique.

Kenya also had a seat on the Security Council during his tenure and he was instrumental in pushing for sanctions against South Africa and Southern Rhodesia.

Hon. James Gichuru 1974-1978

James Gichuru was Kenya’s first Finance Minister after independence. He was also known to be at the centre of talks between Kenyan and British officials on the take-over of one million acres of mixed farmland owned by Europeans to resettle landless Kenyans.

He was later appointed Minister for Defence during President Kenyatta tenure. President Moi retained him briefly when he took over from President Kenyatta in 1978.

during President Kenyatta tenure. President Moi retained him briefly  when he took over from President Kenyatta in 1978

The Ministry of Defence was renamed Department of Defence (DoD) and placed under the Office of the President. The highest civilian official was the Deputy Secretary.

Hon. Julius Sunkuli 2000-2003

Julius Lekakeny Sunkuli was a member of parliament for Kilgoris Constituency in the National Assembly of Kenya between 1997-2002.

Sunkuli was appointed Minister of State for the newly formed Ministry of State for Defence in 2000 where he served for three years during President Moi’s Administration.

It was during Sunkuli’s tenure that Kenyan troops serving in the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) were attacked by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), a rebel group led by Foday Saybana Sankoh. The rebel group was supported by Charles Taylor-led National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) in the 11-year-long Sierra Leone Civil War.

Sunkuli led Kenya’s delegation consisting of Kenya’s Parliamentary Defence and Foreign Relations Committee that ensured the release of the Kenyan soldiers who had been captured by the rebel group in Sierra Leone.

Hon Christopher Ndarathi Murungaru 2003-2005

Hon Christopher Murungaru was a Member of Parliament for Kieni Constituency. Hon. Murungaru was appointed Minister of State for Provincial Administration & National Security.

During his two-year tenure, Defence was a department in the Office of the of President and was amalgamated with Internal Security.

Hon. James Njenga Karume 2006-2007

Hon Njenga Karume was a Member of Parliament for Kiambaa Constituency.

He was appointed Minister of State for Defense in 2005 and served until December 2007.

Hon. Mohamed Yusuf Haji 2008-2013

Hon. Mohamed Yusuf Haji was a career civil servant turn politician. He was a member of Parliament for Ijara Constituency in Garissa County.

Hon Haji was appointed Minister of State for Defence in 2008 and served until 2013. He was later elected as a Senator for Garissa County.

Hon. Haji was a gifted politician, a devoted and top notch administrator who advocated for peace and harmony in the country. Hon Haji, also had ground breaking mediation skills. He is remembered for his wise counsel and steadfast leadership.

It was during Honourable Haji’s tenure that Kenyan troops entered into Somalia on 14^th October 2011 in a campaign aimed at securing Kenya’s sovereignty and territorial integrity against the threat that emanated from the Al Shabaab and its affiliates.

Kenya’s military intervention in Somalia re-energized regional and international resolve to address the Al Shabaab’s threat to peace and security. In that context, and in order to sustain the gains made by KDF, the UN and AU invited Kenya to incorporate KDF into AMISOM in November 2011.

Ambassador Raychelle Omamo SC, EGH 2013-2020

Ambassador Raychelle Awuor Omamo was appointed Cabinet Secretary for Defence in 2013, the first female in the country to hold the post, and served until January 2020. She was later reshuffled and transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the same capacity.

Amb Omamo is a Senior Counsel and an advocate of High Court of Kenya for 28 years. As a practitioner she was the first female Chairperson of the Law Society of Kenya from 2001 to 2003 after serving as a council member from 1996 to 2000 and Kenyan first female ambassador to France, Portugal, The Holy See and Serbia as well as the Permanent Delegate of Kenya to UNESCO.

During her stint in the Ministry of Defence, KDF continued engagement in the Somalia theatre, under AMISOM. The troops degraded Al Shabaab and liberated several towns in the war torn country.

Amb. Omamo also spearheaded the construction and commissioning of the civilian administrative office blocks at MoD headquarters, Kahawa Barracks, Moi Air Base and Kenya Navy Mtongwe with the objective of improving work environment for the civilian component in the Ministry.

AMB. DR. MONICA JUMA, (Oxon), EGH

Dr. Monica Juma is the Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kenya.

Dr.Juma was in charge of the overall defence policy formulation, guidance and implementation. She chaired the Defence Council which is responsible for overall control, policy and direction of the Kenya Defence Forces. She is a member of the National Security Council and advices the President and the National Assembly on any matter relating to the Defence Forces.

She was the Chair of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS), 2020-2021, an international governance mechanism established in New York on January 14, 2009 to facilitate the discussion and coordination of actions among states and organizations to suppress Somali piracy.

Dr. Juma was appointed the Cabinet Secretary for Defence in January 2020 and moved from the Ministry of Foreign affairs, where she had served as Cabinet Secretary between 2018-2020.

During her stint at the MFA, Dr. Juma led Kenya’s diplomatic corps in projecting, promoting, protecting and pursuing the national interests of the Republic of Kenya across the world.

Before serving at the helm of Kenya’s diplomacy, Dr. Juma was the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government (2014-2015).

In the Interior docket, she drove transformation and reforms in the national security sector. She also initiated work that led to the development of Kenya’s strategy on Counter-terrorism, violent extremism and the creation of the multi-agency approach in tackling security challenges in general, and terrorism in particular. Collectively, these measures significantly reduced Kenya’s vulnerability to terrorist attacks and restored security across the country.

Prior to being at the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government, Dr Juma was the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Defence (2013-2014) where she was instrumental in strengthening the business process systems within the Ministry, clarifying the defence strategic orientation and bolstering the professional stature of the Kenya Defence Forces.

Before her appointment to the executive, Dr. Juma was Ambassador Extra-Ordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kenya to Ethiopia and Djibouti, and Permanent Representative of Kenya to the African Union, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and United Nations Commission for Africa (UNECA), between June 2010 and July 2013. Among the key efforts during this time was the negotiations for the re-hatting of the Kenya Defence Forces into the African Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

HON. EUGENE LUDOVIC WAMALWA, EGH

Maj-Gen Joseph Ndolo, the first African to head the military, lasted only two years as Chief of General Staff. His reign was abruptly brought to an end after the 1971 coup attempt. He died in 1984.

Born in 1919, Maj-Gen Ndolo quickly rose through the ranks to become the first Kenyan head of the armed forces.

He had been recruited into the King’s African Rifles, and was a high-ranking officer within the newly established Kenya Army at independence.

When Ndolo was appointed Army Commander in 1966, the newly created position of Chief of Defence Staff was held by Major-General Penfold, a British officer.

General (Rtd) Jackson Mulinge served as the military chief for 15 years.

The general, whose military education was entirely British, was the first Kenyan to receive the Queen’s commission in 1961.

General Mulinge was the first to hold the post of Chief of General Staff (today called Chief of Defence Forces) in 1978 and was the first to become a four-star general in 1980.

General (Rtd) Mahmoud Mohammed is remembered to have led an operation in his tenure as Deputy Army Commander, which crushed the 1982 coup attempt. This changed the course of Kenya’s history. The General recaptured the Voice of Kenya, the National Broadcaster from rebel soldiers suffocating the coup plotters.

A soldier with modest education, he started his career as a private in the infantry battalion; the army’s lowest rank, and rose through the ranks to head the military as the Chief of General Staff. No other man has achieved such a feat in the history of Kenya’s military.

His contribution as the head of the military was significant.

General (Rtd) Daudi Tonje, is one of the celebrated KDF officers. During his tenure, KDF recorded the highest number of reforms that aimed at professionalising the Force.

The reforms included: Establishment of the Defence Staff College and the Defence Forces Medical Insurance Scheme (DEFMIS).

He also pushed for change that would see Cadets at the Armed Forces Training College (AFTC) now the Kenya Military Academy (KMA) attain university education leading to a degree in Military Science.

It was also during General Tonje’s tenure that the Women Service Corps was disbanded leading to the inclusion of women in the mainstream military ranks and services.

He was enlisted to the army in 1962 and trained as a cadet at Hifford Barracks Lanet, then as the first direct-entry African Cadet, this was a year before Kenya’s Independence. After his training, he was posted to the 11th KAR battalion.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­General (Rtd) Joseph Kibwana was in the first batch of 10 African officers and servicemen recruited to the Navy in 1964. The officers were sent to the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, UK, for studies.

General Kibwana rose through the ranks and was appointed the Commander Kenya Navy. He was later promoted to the rank of Lt. General and appointed the Commandant National Defence College, which is a Centre of Excellence in Peace and Security studies across the African region.

In 2000, he became the first Navy officer to occupy the office of the Chief of General Staff.
He oversaw the smooth transition of power in 2002.

General (Rtd) Jeremiah Kianga was promoted and appointed to the rank of the Chief of the General Staff in 2005, taking over from General (rtd) Kibwana.

General (Rtd) Kianga, was considered a strict disciplinarian and was renowned for introducing the Kaizen Principle – continuous improvement. During his tenure he established collaboration with Egerton University for military officers to pursue Defence Forces Continuous Education Programme.

In the fulfillment of the Defence Forces Secondary role , General Kianga restored order in Mt. Elgon where the Sabaot Land Defence Force; a guerrilla militia operating in the Mount Elgon District of Kenya that was accused of killing more than 600 people, and  committing a variety of atrocities including murder, torture, rape, theft and destruction of property.

During the successful operation, more 100 fire arms were recovered from the militia group and the group was dismantled completely.

He is remembered to have championed the Environmental Conservation Programme that had been initiated by the Army in 2003, which he ensured was adopted by all the three services as a defence activity  dubbed the Environmental Soldier programme.

He joined the military in April 1971 and after two years cadet training at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, he was commissioned and posted to the 5th Kenya Rifles as a Platoon Commander in 1973.

General (Rtd) Julius Karangi will be remembered as the first General to hold the new title of the Chief of the Defence Forces as provided for after the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution.

He is also the General who led Kenyan troops to war in Somalia, under the Operation code named “Linda Nchi” on the 14^th October 2011. The purpose of the operation was to degrade the Al Qaeda linked Al-Shabaab militants in Somalia who were posing a security challenge in Kenya hence threatening National interest.

In light of continued threats, to the Republic, the Government of Kenya invoked article 51 of the UN Charter in order to secure the right to self – defence from unwarranted attacks by the militia group.

KDF troops under General (rtd) Karangi re-hated into the African Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) after one month of successful operation.

General (rtd) Julius Karangi was awarded the Legion of Merit (Degree of Commander) by the President of the United States of America for exceptional meritorious service as Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces. The president cited General Karangi’s focus on coalition building and fielding Kenya Battle Groups that seamlessly integrated the concept of the operation and helped achieve the African Union Mission mandate to bring stability to Somalia

He joined Kenya Air Force in 1973 and after Cadet training in UK; he was commissioned as an officer in 1974. General (rtd) Karangi rose through the ranks and became to Commander Kenya Air Force and later appointed as the Chief of the Defence Forces.

General (Rtd) Samson Mwathethe is renowned for the modernization program of the Kenya Defence Forces. He is famed for initiating the construction of the 4000T slipways at Mtongwe, a ships repair facility envisaged to be the only one of such magnitude in Sub Sahara Africa.

The Slipway renamed the Kenya Shipyards Limited is one of the Government’s flagship projects in a plan to revamp the Blue Economy. The Shipyard is expected to be a major boost to maritime operations in the region.

During his time, the Defence Council approved the establishment of the Welfare Branch at the Defence Headquarters and initiated welfare centres in all KDF units.

It was during his tenure that the construction of the Wellness Centre at Langata barracks was initiated that was aimed at addressing service personnel needs beyond rudimentary medical care.

He also established the Defence Forces Savings Cooperative Society (DESACCO) which provides an exclusive cooperative society for KDF personnel to save money and acquire loans at low interest rates.

Gen (Rtd) Mwathethe is also known for increasing the military’s involvement in civil engagement. He was responsible for the rehabilitation of the Nairobi-Nanyuki railway line and for seconding KDF personnel to the management of the Nairobi Metropolitan Service.

General (Rtd) Mwathethe joined the Kenya Defence Forces in 1978 and underwent naval training at the Britannia Royal Naval College in UK and commissioned as a seaman in 1980.

His illustrious career in the military spanned a period of 42 years holding numerous positions in KDF key among them being the Commander Kenya Navy, Vice Chief of the Defence Forces and finally as Chief of the Defence Forces in April 2015. He retired in May 2020.