I think the questions that we are not asking loudly enough are:
If Ebola is mainly in the DRC why is America crying the loudest about it?
How are Americans getting Ebola?
What are Americans doing in DRC?
We were up against a state-backed institution who have been breaching the rules for decades.
We had the whole country waiting to watch us fail.
We had the weight of a 22-year drought on our shoulders.
It was Arsenal against the world. But guess what? Arsenal came out on top.
The post of Kenya Army Commander, a Three Star General command, has been held by some of the best military leaders in all of Africa. Some of the legendary commanders here include the then Lt Gen Daudi Tonje (who served for only a short time before proceeding abroad for a year-long course in readiness for promotion to full General), Lt Gen Lazaro Sumbeiywo, Lt Gen Agostine Stephen Karanu (ASK) Njoroge, Lt Gen Agostine Cheruiyot and Lt Gen Adan Ahmed Abdillahi. Needless to say, it has also been held by lacklustre and hopeless commanders, relying largely on political patronage, like Lt Gen Jeremiah Kianga, Lt Gen Peter Njiru, Lt Gen James Lenges and Lt Gen John Sawe.
By all accounts, Sawe was the worst man to ever hold the title. He was clueless, indecisive and lacked basic officer principles. It is easy to understand why. He was a Colonel when Moi took power in 1978, the highest ranking Kalenjin in a military overflowing with Kambas. But Moi knew that whereas the military was a Kamba institution, the heavily mechanised, funded and equipped GSU was a Kikuyu organ, and they were coming for him soon. He needed a Kalenjin in the military's most powerful post; Kenya Army Commander. So he rushed Sawe through four ranks in just three years, record to date (nearly matched by Uhuru Kenyatta's promotion of his ADC, Col Peter Njiru, all the way to Lt Gen and Army Commander in just over four years).
For Sawe to reign, Moi had to prematurely retire many Kambas and Kikuyus in the General ranks. Some, like Brigadier Lucas Matu, even went to court. Anyway, because Sawe was so unprepared and totally clueless, when the coup happened, it was his deputy, a proper infantry warrior, Maj Gen Mahmoud Mohamed, who took charge of restoring Moi's power, with serious work being done by the then Majors Opande, Sumbeiywo and Musomba, hardened battle leaders. After he retired, Sawe drifted into obscurity and died in infamy.
I can confidently predict today that the newly appointed Army Commander, Lt Gen David Keter, will join Sawe as the two worst Army Commanders of all time. In fact, the removal of Lt Gen Tarus after such a short time, reminds me of Lee Njiru's book, where he narrates the intrigues of intra-Kalenjin sub tribe rivalries in the security forces. Tarus is a Keiyo, and is said to have been firmly opposed to military deployment in crushing Gen Z riots. Keter is a Nandi, and the possible calculation is that with DIG Eliud Lagat, another Nandi, always poised to be IG, the two most important security posts will be held by Nandis, and a proper protection ring for the throne will be created. Tarus, like the great Army Commanders before him, was not beholden to political expediency.
Of course one or two appointments stand out. The appointment of Maj Gen Bernard Waliaula as Kenya Air Force Commander returns the post to a real airman, and a pretty good one at that. Also, the promotion of Brigadier Joyce Sitienei to Maj Gen was long long overdue. She is one of my favourite officers. But in the continuation of the bad manners, Ruto now announces promotions even at Colonel level. The Defence Council and the Commander in Chief traditionally make promotions and appointments within the General ranks only (Brigadier to full General). The rest are handled by internal KDF promotional boards. But I saw Ruto announced even the promotion of Lt Col to Col. There are just three officer ranks below Lt Col (Major, Captain and Lieutenant). This means Ruto will soon start announcing the promotions of Lieutenants to Captains! This must be the most petty regime I've ever seen.
There is something else hiding in these promotions and appointments...
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