Jeremiah Mutinda Kianga (born 1950) is a former Kenyan Army Commander 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 (Afg ...

. He is known for having introduced the principle of Kaizen-continuous development for all officers in the Kenya Defence Forces. During his tenure he established collaborations with local universities to enable officers pursue further studies under the Defence Forces Continuous Education Programme.

Early life

General Kianga was born on 26 April 1950 in Makueni District and finished his high school education at Machakos Secondary School in 1970. In April 1971 he joined the Armed Forces of Kenya and graduated from the Royal Military Academy in 1973.

Career

Upon his commissioning from

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry a ...

Kianga was posted to the 5th Kenya Rifles as a Platoon Commander and did his regimental duty up to 1975. He underwent further training in Kenya, the United Kingdom, India and the United States where he obtained a Master's Degree in Military Arts and Science. He served a number roles in the Armed Forces from Chief of Military Intelligence at Defence Headquarters to General Officer Commanding Eastern Command in 1999. He later served as Assistant Chief of General Staff-in-charge of Personnel and Logitsics at Defence Headquarters. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General and appointed Commander of the

Kenya Army The Kenya Army is the land arm of the Kenya Defence Forces. History The origin of the present day Kenya Army lie with the British Army's King's African Rifles. In the last quarter of the 19th Century the British began actively enforcing the aboli ...

before replacing General (Rtd) Joseph Kibwana as Chief of General Staff under President

Mwai Kibaki Emilio Stanley Mwai Kibaki (15 November 1931 – 21 April 2022) was a Kenyan politician who served as the third President of Kenya from December 2002 until April 2013 and is regarded as one of Kenya's founding fathers. He had previously ser ...

. As Chief of the General Staff he oversaw a large scale army operation in the restive Mount Elgon region after a near five year insurgency by the

Sabaot Land Defence Force The Sabaot Land Defence Force (SLDF) was a guerrilla militia operating in the Mount Elgon District of Kenya since 2005. It has been accused of killing more than 600 people, and of committing a variety of atrocities including murder, torture, rap ...

. The operation was a success with the rebel forces having been militarily defeated and relative calm restored in the area. He retired from active service on August 12 2011 after serving for over forty years.

Awards

General Kianga was inducted by the United States Army's Command and General Staff College as the 227th inductee in its International Hall of Fame and only the second Kenyan officer to ever be inducted.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kianga, Jeremiah Kenyan military personnel Personnel of the Kenya Army 1950 births Living people People from Makueni County Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst