Days of anxiety and uncertainty within military ranks ended on Monday after President Uhuru Kenyatta extended the term of General Samson Mwathethe as Chief of Defence Forces for another year, effectively ending the military careers of the men poised to replace him.
The announcement made on Monday evening marked the end of a period of indecision, during which members of the Defence Council were divided between recommending the extension of Mwathethe’s tenure and replacing him with either Vice-Chief of Defence Forces Lt Gen Robert Kibochi or Lt Gen Leonard Ngondi, the force commander of the AU-UN Hybrid (Unamid) Operation in strife-torn Darfur in Sudan.
On Monday, members of the Defence Council returned to State House to once again brief the President after their meeting on Friday ended inconclusively after they failed to announce any changes.
After the Friday visit to State House, a senior military officer told the Nation that it had been decided that Gen Mwathethe’s term be extended a year. But despite the assurance, no announcement was made.
According to the Kenya Defence Forces Act, the President may, on the recommendation of the Defence Council, extend the CDF’s term for a period not exceeding a year in times of war or emergencies like political uncertainty.
