President William Ruto has promoted Lieutenant General Charles Muriu Kahariri to the rank of General and appointed him Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) - pursuant to section 9 (2) (a) of the KDF Act.

General Muriu now takes over from the late General Francis Ogolla who perished in an air crash last month.

The President has also promoted Major General John Mugaravai Ornenda to the rank of Lieutenant General and appointed him Vice Chief of the Defence Forces. Until his appointment, Lieutenant General John Mugaravai Ornenda was the Kenya Air Force Commander.

Further, the President has promoted Major General Fatuma Gaiti Ahmed to Kenya Air Force and appointed her Commander. Similarly, Major General Paul Owuor Otieno has been posted to the Kenya Navy and appointed Commander. 

Subsequently, on the advice of the Defence Council Chaired by Hon. Aden Bare Duale, Cabinet Secretary for Defence, the President has upheld the Council's recommendations and made various promotions, postings and appointments of Kenya Defence Forces Officers as follows: 

Major General Thomas Njoroge Ng'ang'a was posted to the National Defence University and was appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Administration and Finance. 

Brigadier Pe. Nyamu Githinji was promoted to Major General and appointed Senior Directing Staff, Air at National Defence College. 

The new CDF had initially been promoted to the rank of Vice CDF after the head of state reshuffled senior military leadership on March 9, 2024, on the recommendation of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF). He had replaced Lieutenant General Jonah Maina Mwangi who exited the service after 42 years.

The Tonje rules stipulate that the CDF is rotated between the three arms of the KDF - meaning if the incumbent is a Air Force, the successor will come from the Navy - then the Army, and the cycle continues.

To serve as CDF, one must have been a lieutenant general which makes them a three-star general. CDF makes one an automatic 4-star general.

The Vice CDF is normally a lieutenant general. The commander of the Kenya Army is a 3-star general, while his compatriots at the Air Force and Navy are 2-star generals. For the latter two to serve as VCDF, they need to be promoted to the ranks of lieutenant general.