Karangi to hang up his boots after 42 years in the military

President Uhuru Kenyatta(left) with Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces Julius Karangi during a Jamhuri day celebrations 2014 at Nyayo National Stadium on 12/12/14 [PHOTO/BEVERLYNE MUSILI/STANDARD]

Nairobi, Kenya - Gen Julius Karangi will formally retire today from the helm of of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).

 

Gen Samson Mwathethe will take over as the Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces, following his recent appointment by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

 

Karangi (pictured) will end his 42-year service in the military in style. He will be escorted out of DOD headquarters in a ceremonial Land Rover together with his successor, after being showered with gifts.

The Land Rover is usually used to escort retiring military personnel of the rank of brigadier and above.

Karangi will have his last lunch with senior officers at the Officers' Mess to mark the end of his military career.

Soldiers will line up from the mess all the way to the main DOD gate where he will board his personal car.

The event was initially planned for April 28 but was moved to this week because of among other things, the "many visitors" coming to Kenya, according to sources.

It is not clear where Karangi will head next but sources indicate he might land a Government appointment in changes to be announced soon. Officials say he may be appointed a Government advisor.

"You don't expect such a man to be out in the cold after serving the military for many years. He will be somewhere happy and active," said a source aware of the plans.

Operation Linda Nchi

Speculation of another Government shake-up was rife after President Kenyatta retreated to Sagana State Lodge last Saturday morning.

"After Kerry leaves there may be announcements," added our source.

Mwathethe, who had been Vice Chief of the Defence Forces was named the new Chief of KDF in changes announced last month.

Karangi won public praise for the military operation against the Al-Shabaab in Somalia under Operation Linda Nchi.

Karangi, 64, was appointed Chief of Kenya Defence Forces in 2011, the first military chief to be appointed under the 2010 Constitution, which replaced Kenya Armed Forces with Kenya Defence Forces.

He became the first four-star general to be decorated by the US military in 2014 for his role in the KDF raid of Somalia.

Mwathethe joined Kenya Navy in April 1978. He was commissioned in 1980 as a Seaman Officer after attending Britannia Royal Naval College, in Dartmouth, UK.

His other training includes an international sub-lieutenants course (UK), international principal warfare course (UK), and missiles training (Italy).