Fatuma Ahmed: Kenya's first female Air Force Commander retires

Kenya Air Force Commander Major General Fatuma Ahmed during the launch of Grade 9 classrooms at Moi Forces Academy in Nairobi on January 30, 2025. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

Major General Fatuma Gaiti Ahmed dominated news headlines on May 2 last year following her appointment as the commander of the Kenya Airforce.

Her appointment was historic, and elicited excitement, given that she was the first woman to have risen to the rank within the armed forces.

On Friday, June 27, however, President William Ruto through the Ministry of Defence informed the country of her retirement from active military service after a stellar career spanning more than four decades.

She has been replaced with former Director of Defence National Security Industries Major General Bernard Waliaula.

“The President has appointed Major General Bernard Waliaula as the commander of the Kenya Air Force. Major General Bernard Waliaula replaces Major General Fatuma Gaiti Ahmed whose term of service has come to an end after 42 years of service,” said Temesi Mukani, the ministry’s director of public communication.

Since her recruitment into the service, in 1983, Major General Fatuma has broken many ceilings as a woman of many firsts while drawing respect and admiration within military circles.

In 2015, she became the first woman to be promoted to the rank of a Brigadier, an appointment the then President, Uhuru Kenyatta, said elevated her to be a role model to women in the country.

She again became the first female Major General in 2018 in a promotion that paved the way for her appointment as an Assistant Chief of Defence Forces in charge of Personnel and Logistics.

Prior to her promotion to the helm of the Air Force, Fatuma was the Senior Directing Staff Air at the National Defence College, an assignment she undertook after leaving the Kenya Military Academy (KMA) where she served as the Commandant until 2021.

Apart from her roles within the homeland, she also took on foreign duties including participating in missions including as a United Nations peacekeeper in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2001.

As she exits the force, Fatuma leaves behind a legacy of reforms aimed at achieving gender equality within the service.

While the military honoured her with two stars, the state conferred her with civilian honours including Chief of the Order of the Burning Spear (CBS), and Order of the Grand Warrior (OGW).