The newly appointed Commander of the Kenya Army Lt Gen David Keter officially assumed leadership from outgoing commander Lt Gen David Tarus during a Change of Guard ceremony held Thursday at Ngao Gardens, Headquarters Kenya Army in Nairobi.
Lt Gen Keter takes over as the 24th Commander of the Kenya Army, having previously served as the Assistant Chief of Defence Forces in charge of Personnel and Logistics at the Defence Headquarters.
Lt Gen Tarus, who has been redeployed to the National Defence University-Kenya (NDU-K) as the Vice Chancellor urged the service personnel present to extend their full support to the new Commander, emphasizing on it’s importance for mission accomplishment.
“I am truly delighted to hand over the leadership of the Kenya Army today to Lt Gen Keter. Your extensive experience across various roles in the Kenya Defence Forces has equipped you with the capabilities necessary to lead the Army in our current dynamic and complex defence and security landscape. I wish you great success in fulfilling our core mission, accomplishing assigned tasks and achieving operational effectiveness and efficiency within the Army,” he noted.
Lt Gen Keter pledged to uphold high qualities as he takes on his new role and acknowledged the significant contributions of his predecessor in fostering mission readiness.
“I want to recognize the enormous contributions of my predecessor, Lt Gen Tarus and all the Service Commanders who have served in the Kenya Army before me in shaping the Army into what it is today. The progress made in the Army is, in many respects, the result of the vision, energy and leadership you provided during your time as Army Commander,” he said.
He committed to strengthening the Kenya Army’s capabilities to ensure that troops are well-equipped to achieve their mandate.
Also present during the ceremony were Deputy Army Commander Maj Gen Mohamed Hassan, General Officers, Formation Commanders, Senior Officers, Officers, Service Members and Headquarters Kenya Army staff.
Lt Gen Tarus will take over from Lt Gen Jim Mutai whose next deployment was not announced.
Sources said may be appointed as an ambassador or be redeployed to the civilian departments.
The changes were announced on June 27 and will now leave three Kenya Army Lt Generals an arm away from taking over as the next Chief of Defence Forces when Gen Charles Kahariri retires.
They include Lt Gen Tarus, Lt Gen Keter and Lt Gen Shee Mwinyikai who is the commandant of the National Defence College.
One of these will be promoted to the rank of the Vice Chief of Defence Forces probably next year in April in preparation for the take over.
Gen Kahariri has at least two more years to serve in the military.
The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) Act says a CDF, his deputy and service commanders shall serve a single term of four years or retire upon attaining the mandatory retirement age.
But the Act also says the President may, on the recommendation of the National Defence Council, extend the CDF’s term for a period not exceeding one year in times of war or emergencies like political uncertainty.
A General is supposed to retire at 62, a Lieutenant-General at 61, a Major-General at 59 and a Brigadier at 57 years.
However, the law puts a disclaimer on the General that: “The maximum retirement age shall be amended from time to time through legislation on the recommendation by the Defence Council.”
Under the rules introduced by retired Chief of General Staff Gen Tonje — adopted and known as the Tonje Rules — the position of the CDF is rotated among the three services.
These are Kenya Army, Kenya Air Force and Kenya Navy.
The current CDF is from the Navy and the next will be from Kenya Army.
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