Jackson Kimeu Mulinge was a Kenyan military officer, and

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( United States) * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Af ...

in the 1980s. He was the longest serving head of Kenya's Armed Forces and the first Kenyan military officer to attain the rank of four-star general.

Early life

Mulinge was born in 1924 in Kathiani, present-day

Machakos County Machakos County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya, which came into being because of the devolved system of governance occasioned by the 2010 constitution of Kenya. The country's first administrative headquarters are in Machakos Town, which is ...

. He was educated at the African Inland Mission school in Mumbuni and was randomly selected by a colonial military officer due to his well-built physique.

Career

He started off as a Private in the

King's African Rifles The King's African Rifles (KAR) was a multi-battalion British colonial regiment raised from Britain's various possessions in East Africa from 1902 until independence in the 1960s. It performed both military and internal security functions withi ...

and would see action in Ethiopia against Italian troops. During the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War was a guerrilla war fought in British Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and the military forces o ...

, Mulinge served as a Warrant Officer Platoon Commander in 3rd Battalion, the

c1952-53. Thirteen years after the Malayan tour, he attended the

Imperial Defence College The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...

in London. He was the first African officer in Kenya to receive the Queen's commission in 1961 as a second lieutenant and served as Commanding Officer of

3 Kenya Rifles 3 Kenya Rifles (nicknamed the ''The Scarlets''; possibly 3rd Battalion, The Kenya Rifles) is an infantry battalion of the Kenya Army and the senior most unit of the Kenya Army. History It traces its history back to the first private armed force ...

Battalion from January 1964 in operations during the Shifta War. He was promoted as Deputy Commander of the Kenya Army on 28 November 1966 where he further distinguished himself during the Shifta War and was commended for having, "spent more time in the operational area than any other senior officer, never relaxing his efforts to attain peak military efficiency and bring the shifta to battle" before appointment as Commander, Kenya Army from 1971-1978. He is credited with averting two coup attempts against Presidents

Jomo Kenyatta Jomo Kenyatta (22 August 1978) was a Kenyan anti-colonial activist and politician who governed Kenya as its Prime Minister from 1963 to 1964 and then as its first President from 1964 to his death in 1978. He was the country's first indigenous ...

and

Daniel Arap Moi Daniel Toroitich arap Moi ( ; 2 September 1924 – 4 February 2020) was a Kenyan politician who served as the second president of Kenya from 1978 to 2002. He was the country's longest-serving president. Moi previously served as the third vice ...

. His refusal to participate in a coup plot against Jomo Kenyatta would see his loyalty rewarded when he was promoted to replace Major General

Joseph Musyimi Lele Ndolo Major General Joseph Ndolo was a former Chief of the General Staff and the first African to head the armed forces of Kenya. Career Ndolo was a member of the King's African Rifles. At the time of his enlistment Ndolo was working in a plantation i ...

. As Chief of General Staff he helped quash the 1982 coup attempt organised by junior air force officers that tried to overthrow then President Moi. This would earn him the full trust of President Moi in which a U.S. intelligence assessment of 1983 wrote that Mulinge was "the most influential and powerful figure in the armed forces" and at the time "enjoy dthe full confidence" of President

Daniel arap Moi Daniel Toroitich arap Moi ( ; 2 September 1924 – 4 February 2020) was a Kenyan politician who served as the second president of Kenya from 1978 to 2002. He was the country's longest-serving president. Moi previously served as the third vice ...

Death

He died on 16 July 2014 aged 91 years in Nairobi. He was buried with full military honours including a 21-gun salute with President

Uhuru Kenyatta Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta (born 26 October 1961) is a Kenyan politician who served as the fourth president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022. Kenyatta was chosen by Daniel Arap Moi as his preferred successor, but Kenyatta was defeated by opposition le ...

and other national leaders among those in attendance. President Kenyatta eulogised Mulinge as "a great solider who led a life of honour, service and patriotism". Former President

Daniel Moi Daniel Toroitich arap Moi ( ; 2 September 1924 – 4 February 2020) was a Kenyan politician who served as the second president of Kenya from 1978 to 2002. He was the country's longest-serving president. Moi previously served as the third vice ...

in his condolence message read at the funeral service described his death as a huge loss " The death of Mulinge has robbed Kenyans of one of the most industrious sons who was always ready to take responsibility for his actions."

Awards

In addition to military honours earned over his long service he was awarded national honours that included Elder of the Golden Heart and Moran of the Burning Spear.

References

Personnel of the Kenya Army Kamba people {{Kenya-bio-stub