Emotional Moment As Chief Of Defence Forces Charles Kahariri Hands Command Flag To Himself

• General Charles Muriu Kahariri was appointed Kenya's Chief of Defence Forces after the death of General Francis Ogolla
• Kahariri was officially received at the Defence Headquarters on Tuesday, May 7, in an elaborate yet unprecedented event
• There was a unique spectacle during the change of guard event at the Defence Headquarters as Kahariri had to take over the flag himself

Michael Ollinga is a journalist at TUKO.co.ke with over 10 years of experience covering courts and crimes, special reports, and current affairs in Kenya.

Kenya's new Chief of Defence Forces, General Charles Muriu Kahariri, has been officially received at the Defence Headquarters.

General Charles Kahariri takes over at defence headquarters

This was after Kahariri went through the elaborate change of guard process according to military traditions and took the command flag at Defence headquarters on Tuesday, May 7.

The process happened a few days after President William Ruto, the Commander-in-Chief of all the armed forces of Kenya, promoted him from lieutenant general to general and appointed him as CDF.

On Friday, May 3, Ruto also presided over the investiture of ranks and swearing-in of newly-appointed Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) General Officers at State House.

Kahariri is the country's 12th CDF after he was appointed to replace General Francis Ogolla, who died in a helicopter accident at the border of Elgeyo Marakwet and West Pokot counties on Thursday, April 18.

Military generals handover traditions

As military traditions dictate, Kahariri inspected a guard of honour that the Kenya Air Force troops mounted.

Kahariri then went through the command flag handover ceremony.

This was after he inspected the old and new guard troops in a line mounted by the three KDF services: the Kenya Army, Kenya Navy, and Kenya Air Force.

At this point, something unprecedented happened: General Kahariri had to take over the command flag from the table.

Ordinarily, if General Ogolla could have finished his term and Kahariri appointed his successor, the former would have handed over the command flag to the latter.

However, in this case, Ogolla, a four-star general, is dead, and there is no higher-ranking officer than Kahariri, the new CDF, a four-star general.

Military traditions dictate that only an officer with a higher rank or who has been in command can hand over the command flag to their successor. Only Ogolla could have done this.

Who is the highest-ranking military officer in Kenya?

"General Kahariri is the senior most in terms of rank and position in the tri-serve. This means there was no rightful person to hand over any power to him. In the military, your junior, with regard to rank, cannot hand over power or command to you," a military officer who sought anonymity told TUKO.co.ke.

The officer acknowledged that this was an unprecedented event because no other Kenyan CDF had died while in office.

"Secondly, this was an unprecedented handover and investiture of ranks because the person who served as the CDF died while still in office. He picked up the command flag himself because General Ogolla died.

"Ogolla was the only one who could hand it over to him or the CiC; President Ruto, a five-star general in military laws, could hand over the command flag to Kahariri, a four-star general," the officer expounded.

He said that there is no one in the Kenyan military with the same rank as General Kahariri, as that would have brought about conflict in terms of roles. The military has one four-star general at a time.

General Kahariri's self-handover of the command flag

Kenyans who followed the event online were emotional watching the CDF take the command flag from the table by himself.

"It is emotional that he took that flag from the table since no one was there to hand it over to him," said Kimani fix.

Chris's Corner also made a similar observation and wished General Kahariri the best as he took control of the Kenyan military.

Emotional KDF handover as General Kahariri takes over

"It was a very emotional scene to see the general pick up the KDF flag on the steps where his predecessor was supposed to be; however, this was not a normal change of command, which was done under extraordinary circumstances," Chris said.

Chris urged the general to be compassionate and firm as he takes charge of a grieving force.

"I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate General Kahariri on his appointment as the new CDF. Sir, you are now in charge of a military that is still grieving from the loss of their commander, who was your boss so you have to lead by example and make sure that even as you continue to grieve, Kenyan security does not suffer," added Chris.

The Vice Chief of Defence Forces (VCDF), Lieutenant General John Omenda, Service Commanders Lieutenant General David Tarus, Major General Fatuma Gaiti Ahmed, and Major General Paul Otieno were present during the event.

TUKO.co.ke published a detailed profile of the illustrious military career of General Charles Muriu Kahariri, who initially served as the vice chief of defence forces under the late General Ogolla.

Proofreading by Asher Omondi, current affairs journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.