In practice Parliament treats with deference the President's powers of command in an emergency requiring instant decisions. It was the clear intention of Parliament when establishing the Kenyan Armed Forces to make them subordinate to the civil power. The overall control and direction of the armed forces are entrusted to the Defence Council, the highest policy organ of the armed forces, whose Chairman and Vice-chairman are, respectively, Minister and Assistant Minister, appointed by the President. All attachments, employment of the armed forces or co-operation with other forces locally and abroad are controlled by the President and Defence Council. In addition, Parliament has retained supervisory power over the armed forces in funding.
All military expenditure requires parliamentary authority through the annual financial approvals.
Scrutiny of this expenditure is ensured through the annual report of the Controller and Auditor-General. The Department of Defence, which is administered by the civil service, oversees the management of the Armed Forces, thus completing the formal constitutional, legislative and administrative relationship between the military and government in Kenya. The lines, limits and controls over the Kenyan Armed Forces by the civil power are clear and represent the constitutional intention to control military intervention through the democratic processes of the country. It is therefore common to find military personnel unable to separate institutional or national prestige from personal prestige. The military leader with this frame of mind may see a particular crisis as purely military and not political.