Dr Robert Kibochi: The General who highlighted Military's welfare

General Robert Kibochi now exits his tenure as the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), following the appointment of his successor General Francis Ogolla.

Kibochi's term ends after 44 years in the military.

The Standard delves into Gen. Kibochi's tenure at the helm of the Defence Forces.

General Dr Roboert Kibochi was in 2020 promoted from a Lieutenant General to a general, and appointed as the Chief of Defence Forces, taking over from Gen. Samson Mwathethe.

His predecessor Gen. Mwathethe retired after more than 42 years in the military.

Who is General Kibochi?

Kibochi was born in 1959 in Gilgil, Nakuru County.

According to his Military profile, the general attended Koelel High School in Gilgil and Nyeri High School, in Nyeri County.

Although he did not finish his A-Level Education, he opted for military recruitment and was enlisted.

In 1979, he joined the Kenya Army and was sent to the Armed Forces Training College (AFTC) in Nakuru where he underwent Officer Cadets Training until March 30, 1980. After graduation, he was commissioned in the rank of Second Lieutenant and posted to Signals Battalion.

Since then, the general has held various command and staff appointments including Vice Chief of the Defence Forces, Commander of the Kenya Army, Assistant Chief of Defence Forces in charge of Operations, Plans, Doctrine and Training at Defence Headquarters (DHQ), Chief of Strategic Plans and Policy, Director International Peace Support Training Centre, Col Operations Requirements (CIS) and Commander Corps of Signals.

Other appointments include Chief of Staff at the Eastern Africa Standby Force, SO1 Records at Headquarter Kenya Army, SO1 Comms HQ KA, SO1 Mobilization DHQ, SO1 Comms CIS DHQ and SOII Operations and Training at the Headquarters of the Corps of Signals.

Kibochi holds a PhD degree in Peace and Conflict Management, Master's Degree of Arts in International Studies, Master's Degree in Computer Based Information Systems and Bachelors of Technology in Communication and Electronics Engineering.

Military books also reveal that Kibochi has undertaken other professional training including the National Security Studies at the National Defence College (Kenya), Army Command and Staff Course in the United Kingdom, Overseas Telecoms Engineering Course (UK), among other training courses.

He also served with the United Nations as Commander of Kenyan Contingent in the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) from 2000 - 2001.

He retires with decorations like the Elder of the Order of the Golden Heart (EGH) and Chief of the Order of the Burning Spear (CBS) among others.

Kibochi made history in the military ranks as he became the first CDF to hold a PhD when he last year graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy.

He was appointed as the CDF in May 2020 and has served in that rank for three years.

Before he rose to the rank of Vice CDF and eventually CDF, Kibochi, then a Major General had been promoted to a Lt General and appointed as the Kenya Army Commander replacing Lt Gen Leonard Ngondi who had been moved to National Defence College as Commandant.

Under the rules by Retired Chief of General Staff Gen. Daudi Tonje, the position of the CDF is rotated among the three services - Kenya Army, Kenya Air Force and Kenya Navy. These famous Tonje rules have steered appointments in KDF.

A General is supposed to retire at 62, a Lieutenant-General at 61, a Major-General at 59 and a Brigadier at 57 years.

However, the law puts a disclaimer on the General that: "The maximum retirement age shall be amended from time to time through legislation on the recommendation by the Defence Council."

Kibochi took over from Gen. Samson Mwathethe, a naval officer, who was named the CDF on April 17, 2015, replacing Gen. Julius Karangi from Kenya Air Force. This gave the seat automatically to Kenya Army.

The KDF Act says a CDF, his deputy and service commanders shall serve a single term of four years or retire upon attaining the mandatory retirement age.

The Act also says the President may, on the recommendation of the National Defence Council, extend the CDF's term for a period not exceeding one year in times of war or emergencies like political uncertainty.

The KDF ranks have adopted a distinct two-tier system of officers and service members. Officers are at the top of the hierarchy, referred to as commissioned officers.

The lowest rank is that of Second Lieutenant, while the highest is that of General, (four-star).

At any one time, KDF has only one four-star General, who is Chief of the Defence forces.

Dr Kibochi's legacy

Kibochi will be remembered for taking the front line in advocating for the welfare of military men and women.

When KDF joined the MUNUSCO peace mission, Kibochi is on record asking the government to critically look at the welfare of the soldiers and their families.

Upon his appointment as CDF, Kibochi took the welfare issue and ran with it. Multiple sources within the military ranks indicate that ten years after KDF had entered Somalia under the operation Linda Nchi, many families were suffering in silence but Kibochi did a 360 turnaround and ensured that both those deployed and their families were given priority in terms of welfare.

"Dr Kibochi is a general who simply realized that to lead the military you need to pay a special focus on their welfare. This is because if you deploy them under stressful circumstances the missions will fail," said a source within the military.

According to the source, Kibochi worked hand in hand with former President Uhuru Kenyatta to ensure welfare is prioritised.

This did not only create an enabling environment in the military, but made KDF a force that is responsive and useful to the national socio-economic agenda, a military officer told The Standard.

"The former president and Gen. Kibochi played a key role in propelling and boosting [military] capabilities while sharpening its arrowhead to effectively serve the nation."

Kibochi is adored for initiating a wide range of welfare initiatives catering to Defence Forces personnel, their families and military veterans that aligned to meet the emerging challenges facing the soldiery.

He will be remembered for the construction and equipping of regional military hospitals in Nairobi, Isiolo, Nakuru and Eldoret.

"The facilities are not only welfare-centered but holistic centres that are critical in offering supportive health services," a senior officer at DoD said.

He further oversaw the implementation of a gender mainstreaming programme in KDF that has seen more women rise to top positions. In the promotions, a woman was made Major General, four promoted to the rank of Brigadier and 17 to that of Colonel.

This includes the likes of Maj-Gen Fatuma Ahmed, Brigadier Zipporah Kioko, Brigadier Alice Muringo Mate and Lt-Col Rodah Mwasigwa among others. The programme has also seen the current president William Ruto and his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta select women as their Aide-de-Camps.

"We are the only military in the continent with a written gender policy that focuses on mainstreaming gender into decision-making processes," Kibochi said.

With regards to service delivery by the military in conjunction with the National government, Kibochi allowed Uhuru to involved the KDF in the implementation of key projects such as the revival of the Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) which had been performing dismally.

In a past interview, the former CDF said KDF has had a reservoir of expertise that the nation needs to tap attributing it to the training military personnel acquire.

Gen (Dr) is married to Tabitha. They together have four children.