- The CDF is the senior most officer and outranks all service commanders and has operational command authority over the service branches
- Under the old constitution, the head of the military had the title of Chief of General Staff
General Charles Kahariri became the 12th member of an exclusive club of individuals who have risen through the military ranks to be defence chiefs in the country.
The Chief of Defence Forces is the principal military adviser to the President and the National Security Council. The senior most officer, the CDF outranks all service commanders over the service branches.
Under the old constitution, the military boss had the title of Chief of General Staff.
The first holder of the office, in 1966, was Robert Bernard Penfold, a colonial army officer and Major General. He left in 1969 and retired in 1972. Penfold died in 2015.
Joseph Musyimi Ndolo replaced him. He was a member of the King’s African Rifles - a colonial army unit in British East Africa.
A former plantation worker at Moshi, Tanzania, Ndolo enlisted in the 6th Battalion and by the time the Second World War abated, he had risen to the rank of Sergeant.
Ndolo became a major general and later, the first black CGS on June 1, 1969. But he left two years later under a cloud of controversy - with claims of an alleged coup plot against then-president Jomo Kenyatta.
Jackson Mulinge was promoted to replace Ndolo. Gen Mulinge was the longest-serving army chief - from 1971 to 1986 - and the first military man to attain the rank of four star.
His successor, Gen Mohamud Barrow Mohamed, served for ten years from 1986. He is regarded as the man who commanded the troops that suppressed the failed coup in 1982.
Then President Daniel Moi promoted him through the ranks, eventually becoming the Chief of General Staff.
Then came Gen Daudi Tonje who took command from 1996 and served to the end of 2000. He is famed for streamlining the succession at the military, by enacting the famous Tonje rules.
Gen Tonje’s successor, Gen Joseph Kibwana, was a seaman who held the role between 2000 to 2005.
He was replaced by Gen Jeremiah Kianga, who negotiated with local universities to enable officers to pursue further studies.
Airman Julius Waweru Karangi was appointed the new CDF and led the operation Linda Nchi, which saw KDF troops into Somalia in the war against Al Shabaab. He retired in 2015.
Navy man Samson Mwathethe took over and retired in 2020 when Gen Robert Kibochi from the army was appointed.
He was the first non-infantry officer from the Kenya Army to be appointed CDF and opened up the military to the media by revamping its communication and launching a state-of-the-art studio.
He retired in May 2023 and was succeeded by the late Francis Ogolla, the airman who perished last month in a copter crash in West Pokot.
Barely a year after, Gen Ogolla's former deputy, Gen Kahariri now takes over the reigns at the military's helm.