The Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) is the highest-ranking military officer in the Kenya Defence Forces and the principal military adviser to the

President of Kenya The president of the Republic of Kenya () is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Kenya. The President is also the head of the executive branch of the Government of Kenya and is the commander-in-chief of the Kenya Defe ...

and the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...

. The CDF outranks all respective heads of each service branch and has operational command authority over the service branches. He leads the meetings and coordinates the efforts of the Service Commander, comprising the CDF, the Commander of the Kenya Army and

Kenya Air Force The Kenya Air Force (KAF) or sw, Jeshi la Wanahewa is the national aerial warfare service branch of the Republic of Kenya. The main airbase operating fighters is Laikipia Air Base in Nanyuki, while Moi Air Base in Eastleigh, Nairobi is the he ...

, Kenya Navy and the Commandant of

Military Intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

. The CDF has offices in Ulinzi House. Following the 2010 Constitution, the Chief of the General Staff was replaced with the Chief of the Defence Forces. The office is considered very important and highly prestigious, because the CDF has command authority over the Armed Forces. The chain of command is from the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

(as the Commander in Chief), directly to the CDF. The CDF, as a Principal Adviser, does have authority over personnel assignments and oversight over resources and personnel allocated to the commands within the respective services. The Chairman may also transmit communications to the service commanders from the President. He also performs all other functions as assigned from time to time by the President. The CDF may also allocate those duties and responsibilities to other officers under his name.

List of chiefs

Chief of the General Staff

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Chief of the Defence Forces

Citations

References

* {{Chief of military by country Military of Kenya

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...