# Chief of Defence Forces (Kenya)

The Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) is the highest-ranking military officer in the Kenya Defence Forces and the principal military adviser to the President of Kenya and the National Security Council. The CDF outranks all respective heads of each service branch and has operational command authority over the service branches. He leads the meetings and coordinates the efforts of the Service Commander, comprising the CDF, the Commander of the Kenya Army and Kenya Air Force, Kenya Navy and the Commandant of Military Intelligence. The CDF has offices in Ulinzi House. Following the 2010 Constitution, the Chief of the General Staff was replaced with the Chief of the Defence Forces.

## Duties

The office is considered very important and highly prestigious, because the CDF has command authority over the Armed Forces. The chain of command is from the President (as the Commander in Chief), directly to the CDF. The CDF, as a Principal Adviser, does have authority over personnel assignments and oversight over resources and personnel allocated to the commands within the respective services. The Chairman may also transmit communications to the service commanders from the President. He also performs all other functions as assigned from time to time by the President. The CDF may also allocate those duties and responsibilities to other officers under his name.

## List of chiefs
### Chief of the General Staff

| No. | Chief of the General Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch |
| 1 | Penfold, RobertMajor General Robert Bernard Penfold (1916–2015) | 30 November 1966 | 31 May 1969 | 2 years, 182 days | Kenya Army |
| 2 | Ndolo, JosephMajor General Joseph Musyimi Lele Ndolo (1921–1984) | 1 June 1969 | 24 June 1971 | 2 years, 23 days | Kenya Army |
| 3 | Mulinge, JacksonGeneral Jackson Kimeu Mulinge (1924–2014) | 25 June 1971 | 1986 | 14–15 years | Kenya Army |
| 4 | Mohamed, MahamoudGeneral Mohamud Haji Barrow Mohamed | 1986 | 1996 | 9–10 years | Kenya Air Force |
| 5 | Tonje, DaudiGeneral Daudi Rerimoi Chepkong'a Tonje | 1996 | 30 November 2000 | 3–4 years | Kenya Army |
| 6 | Kibwana, JosephGeneral Joseph Raymond Edward Kibwana | 1 December 2000 | 31 August 2005 | 4 years, 273 days | Kenya Navy |
| 7 | Kianga, JeremiahGeneral Jeremiah Mutinda Kianga | 1 September 2005 | 12 July 2011 | 5 years, 314 days | Kenya Army |

### Chief of the Defence Forces

| No. | Chief of the Defence Forces | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch |
| 1 | Karangi, JuliusGeneral Julius Waweru Karangi (born 1951) | 13 July 2011 | 4 May 2015 | 3 years, 295 days | Kenya Air Force |
| 2 | Mwathethe, SamsonGeneral Samson Jefwa Mwathethe (born 1958) | 5 May 2015 | 10 May 2020 | 5 years, 5 days | Kenya Navy |
| 3 | Kibochi, RobertGeneral Robert Kariuki Kibochi (born 1959) | 11 May 2020 | 28 April 2023 | 2 years, 352 days | Kenya Army |
| 4 | Ogolla, FrancisGeneral Francis Omondi Ogolla (1962–2024) | 28 April 2023 | 18 April 2024 | 356 days | Kenya Air Force |
| 5 | Kahariri, CharlesGeneral Charles Muriu Kahariri (born 1966) | 18 April 2024 | incumbent | 274 days | Kenya Navy |

## Citations

* ↑ Kibet, Dennis (28 June 2018). "KDF makes major changes". Puls live. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
* ↑ Hornsby 2012, p. 180.
* ↑ "King's Collections : Archive Catalogues : Military Archives". kcl.ac.uk. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
* ↑ Hornsby 2012, p. 228-229.
* ↑ Hornsby 2012, p. 335-336.
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Nairobian reporter. "Seven Kenya Defence Forces military generals you never wanted to mess with". SDE. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
* 1 2 Hornsby 2012, p. 554.
* ↑ "A soldier's story".
* ↑ Ramadhan, Khatib (1 May 2015). "Navy General takes over as new Chief of Kenya Defence Forces". Indian Ocean Observer. Mombasa. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
* ↑ Agutu, Nancy (11 May 2020). "Robert Kibochi sworn in as new Chief of Kenya Defence Forces". the-star.co.ke. The Star. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
* ↑ "Francis Omondi Ogolla succeeds Robert Kibochi as KDF chief". 28 April 2023.
* ↑ Ombati, Cyrus. "Gen Charles Kahariri to act as CDF after Ogolla's death". The Star. Retrieved 23 April 2024.