A woman may be CDF in the next three or four years - Brigadier (Rtd) Mohammed

Mohammed, who spoke on Citizen TV’s The Explainer Show on Tuesday, underscored that the KDF is impartial to gender and that a woman can assume the CDF position as long as she ascends uniformly through all the ranks.

He went on to disclose that among the current senior-most officials in the armed forces, a woman who once joined the military with the late CDF General Francis Ogolla may be next in line according to the Tonje Rules, which unofficially governs the selection of the CDF.

“Today we are all equal and enjoy equal opportunities and the issue of diversity, equity, and inclusivity applies so well,” he said.

“I am happy to say this, that our senior most woman today in the armed forces surprisingly, and fitting in so well, was in training with General Ogolla in 1984.”

Brig. Mohammed further noted that the said woman, whose identity he did not reveal, was among the five Generals of the 1984 cohort when the late CDF Ogolla joined the military.

“In fact, the intake of 1984 has got 5 Generals; three from the Airforce and two from the Army. One of them is the senior most woman in the KDF, I hope the time will come when she becomes the CDF in the next two or three years,” added Mohammed.

In the history of the defence forces, Kenya has never had any female Chief.

At the same time Mohammed said that following General Ogolla's death in a helicopter crash last week, then Vice-Chief of Defence Forces Lt. Gen. Charles Muriu Kahariri automatically assumed office in an acting capacity, noting that there is no power vacuum in the military.