General Kibochi, who took office in May 2020 following the retirement of his predecessor General Samson Mwathethe, will be winding up his four-year term in May next year, having also surpassed the retirement age of 62. He was born on August 15, 1959.
The KDF Act stipulates that a Chief of Defence forces (CDF) and the three serving commanders of the Army, Air Force and Navy shall serve a single term of four years or retire upon attainment of the retirement age, whichever comes first.
By May next year, General Kibochi will have attained both, meaning that a new CDF will likely be installed.
The Act, however, notes that a sitting president may extend the CDF’s term if the country is in a period of political uncertainty or in the event of an emergency or war. It also gives the President powers to retire or redeploy a sitting CDF of any of the three service commanders before expiry of their term.
In this case, the office falls vacant when one resigns officially through a letter addressed to the Commander in Chief, when one is re-deployed or dismissed by a court martial or service is terminated on disciplinary or any other grounds.
In Kenya, no sitting CDF has ever been retired before completion of their term or failed to serve till their contracts ended. Some, however, had had their terms extended when expiry fell close to a General Election and upon the advice of the Defence Council, the body chaired by the Defence minister that guides the President on probable candidates.
Tonje rules
Additionally, the succession process follows the famous Tonje rules that were crafted by Retired Chief of Staff General Daudi Tonje. It introduced a rotation system that gives equal chances to the three units of the defence forces to lead the military. It is on this premise that the President is expected to pick General Kibochi’s successor from the Air Force — whose senior most officers Lt General Francis Ogolla and Lt General Mohammed Abdalla Badi are all above the retirement age of 60.
A full general, the CDF retires at the age of 62, a Lt. Gen 61, a Major General 59 and a Brigadier 57.
Every four years or so, the defence council in its bi-annual sittings to discuss promotions within the military ranks comes up with a list of distinguished officers suitable to succeed the outgoing general.
General Kibochi’s succession is therefore expected to feature in the council’s next meeting in March if the president will not extend his term in what will be his first major decision as Commander in Chief of the armed forces.
Past CDFs have been chosen from a pool of distinct officers, who have the military experience and merit to undertake the key role. Experience includes leading successful missions both within and outside the country over the last few decades.
For instance, such missions include Operation Linda Nchi, AMISOM, ATMIS, EACRF and MONUSCO.
The Kenya Army is the largest service of the defence forces and before introduction of the transition policy by General (Rtd) Tonje, the service predominantly led the Kenya Armed Forces.
In the post 1982 coup era, General Mahmoud Mohammed, a Kenya Army officer, was Chief of General Staff, and after his retirement General Tonje took over office.
After a stellar career spanning 3 decades, General Tonje retired after making critical changes in military service and even though the then President Daniel Moi granted him an extension to serve, he retired. Thus began a new era in KDF leadership under General Joseph Kibwana, a Kenya Navy officer.
General Jeremiah Kianga from the Kenya Army was the last General under the old Constitution to serve as the Chief of General Staff, and was succeeded by General Julius Karangi, a Kenya Airforce officer whose career began as a navigator, a profession that has since been scrapped within military circles.
Karangi became a household name after KDF’s entry into Somalia in 2011 under operation Linda Nchi, and the success of operation Sledge Hammer that led the troops to the capture the key city of Kismayu from Al-Shabaab.
