Out-going KDF chief General Samson Mwathethe will not join politics after his retirement.
President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday named General Robert Kibochi to succeed Mwathethe whose tenure ends on May 11.
And during a burial in Kilifi on Saturday, Mwathethe said the military and politics are worlds apart and urged residents to stop associating him with political talks.
He spoke in Kaloleni during the burial of Esther Ngala, the widow to the late Ronald Ngala.
Mwathethe said he will retire to his Kilifi home and participate in developmental projects but not politics.
Many residents of Kilifi county have been claiming the KDF boss will join politics and contest for the Kilifi governorship.
“When it was announced that I will be retiring people started making suggestions that I join politics but I will not go that route. I am a military officer. Military and politics do not go together,” Mwathethe said.
He said he was still in charge of the military until May 11 midnight when he will be escorted out of the office.
“Some people are referring me as the former Chief of Defence Forces. I am not former. I am still the CDF until May 11. After that day, I will come back home and join my kinsmen in developing the county. I am not joining politics for now,” Mwathethe said.
Mwathethe joined the military on May 11, 1978 and rose through the ranks to the top most position.
“People have been saying that the position should be given to so and so after my retirement. There are laws and procedures that determine who is to take charge after me and that is what is being followed. This is not a position to pick someone from anywhere,” he said.
He also read the condolence message from President Uhuru Kenyatta who eulogised Esther as a dedicated woman who supported Ngala in his political journey.
Mwathethe was born in Jila village, Ganze constituency but has since shifted home to Kikambala in Kilifi South constituency.
Esther died on April 26 aged 90. She is survived by 10 children, 46 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren.
Edited by P.O
