In the short history Kenya has after independence, a great number of Army Chiefs played a pivotal role in sustaining the regimes.
While some of the Army Chiefs were unceremoniously kicked out of office, some served their full terms, and are remembered for certain reforms they brought to the nation.
Major General Benard Penfold (1966-1969)
Immediately after independence, Major General Bernard Penfold stayed at the helm of the Kenya Army, presumably to spearhead a peaceful transition from the colonial system to the democratic one.
At the time of his appointment by President Jomo Kenyatta in 1966, more than half of the military was British.
Through his efforts, Penfold succeeded in Africanizing the military, and the last white soldier left the military in 1969.
At one point, the British government expressed that Penfold was bargaining viciously for the Kenyan Government more than the Kenyans themselves.
Maj-Gen Joseph Ndolo (1969-1971)
General Joseph Ndolo holds the record of becoming the first Kenyan Army General.
Taking the reigns from a British Predecessor, Ndolo had the arduous task of fitting in the shoes of a battle-hardened General Penfold with British training.
During the 1971 coup, a disgruntled President Kenyatta fired Ndolo over suspected involvement in the coup plot.
Ndolo is also the shortest-serving military head in the history of Kenya.
While he was not charged alongside the coup plotters of 1971, Ndolo is said to have slightly aided the coup.
He was to die 13 years later in 1984 after his sacking.
Gen Jackson Mulinge (1971-1986)
Prior to succeeding General Reuben Ndolo in ’71, Gen Mulinge became the first Kenyan to receive the Queen’s commission in 1961.
Gen Mulinge had an entirely British Training at the time of his appointment, and had the confidence of the Presidency.
He was to serve for 15 years after his appointment in 1971, with the highlights being quashing the deadly 1982 coup plot by the Kenya Airforce rebel soldiers.
The soldiers were handed down to the hangman after being found guilty of the offence.
Gen Mulinge was to later join politics where he became the MP for Kathiani. He died in 2014 aged 91.
Gen Mahamoud Mohamed (1986-1996)
General Mahamoud Mohamed succeeded Gen Mulinge shortly after his term expired in 1986.
Though Gen Mohamed was not a particularly well-educated person, he was a hands-on General with a variety of military tactics and experience.
In fact, as the deputy army commander, Mohamed led the quashing of President Moi’s coup attempt in 1982.
Today, he is a businessman in Garissa and Nairobi.
Gen Daudi Tonje (1996-2000)
General Daudi Tonje joined the Army as a cadet in 1962. He was to rise through the ranks, and in 1966, he succeeded the powerful General Mahamoud Mohamed.
Tonje, who is now a goat farmer in Baringo introduced a raft of changes in the army which are still in use to date.
At the expiry of his term in 2000, President Moi wanted to have his contract extended, but being the man Tonje is, he flatly rejected the offer.
He introduced the inclusion of women in the army, engineered the rotational basis of Army, Navy and Airforce commanders into the leadership of the country’s defence.
At the time he was appointed to the military, Tonje found a pay parade system and quashed it. Here, the army officers would line up and receive their salaries in cash.
They later adopted a bank system where military officers would remotely receive their pay, like every other civil servant.
Gen Joseph Kibwana (2000-2005)
General Kibwana was first recruited to the Navy in 1964.
He oversaw the transition from the Moi government which lasted 24 years, to the Democratic regime of president Kibaki which began in 2002.
Kibwana holds the record of the first Army General to be drawn from the Navy arm.
Currently, he is the Chairman of the Kenya Ports Authority Board.
Gen Jeremiah Kianga (2005-2011)
A tough Military General, Kianga introduced a bachelors degree in Military Science for army officials.
Kianga was at the helm of the military during the bloody 2007/2008 post-elections violence and during the clashes between the army and Sabaot Land Defence forces.
In both instances, the army was accused of using excessive force in neutralizing unrest.
Kianga is the current Chairman of the Kenya Railways Board.
During his tenure, Retired President Moi controversially extended his term by more than two years!
Gen Julius Karangi ( 2011-2015)
General Julius Karangi succeeded Gen Kianga in 2011, and served up auntil 2015 when he retired.
Karangi was a General who had one foot in the army and another in politics.
He is said to have greatly influenced cabinet appointments both during President Kibaki’s tenure and that of President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Karangi, who is the xurrent Chairman for NSSF board, led Kenya into the Somalia war after a series of cross-border attacks rocked the country.
Up to date, he remains the most politically-connected army general Kenya has ever had.
Gen Samson Mwathethe 2015-2019
The outgoing Army General Samson Mwathethe became the second navy commander to head the Army.
His lowest points are when the Al-Shabaab militants overran the Kulbiyow bases and the El- Adde, where more than 250 Kenyan soldiers were killed.
He is a military general who avoided politics, and lives a secretive private life.