Vice Chief of Defence Forces (VCDF) Lt Gen Charles Muriu Kahariri has been promoted to the rank of general and named the Chief Defence Forces.
He now replaces his boss Gen Francis Ogolla who died in a chopper crash.
Kahariri is now a four-star general, the highest rank in Kenya's defence forces.
The five-star general rank is a preserve of the President of the Republic of Kenya only.
Kenya Airforce commander Maj Gen John Omenda has been promoted and named the VCDF.
The promotion and appointment were made by President William Ruto, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces.
This follows a meeting of the Defense Council under the chairmanship of Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale.
For Gen Kahari it was a bit of luck.
This is because based on the past trend where all military commanders had to have served as service commanders, he did not.
He never served as a service commander.
He once served as the deputy commander Kenya Navy and later promoted and posted to a defence college.
To be a general in any military formation is probably the highest accord you can ever aspire to be in the profession of arms.
It is the pyramid top.
Statistics the world over confirm that generally, only one per cent of a cadet class reach the rank of general.
