Fatuma Gaiti Ahmed made history as Kenya’s first female Major General.
Ahmed has broken barriers again after becoming the first female Air Force Commander in Kenya.
Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) has never had a woman as a service commander and Fatuma’s rise is a major milestone in the country’s defence forces.
Before President William Ruto promoted her to Kenya Air Force commander, Fatuma served as the Senior Directing Staff Air.
The decorated officer came to the spotlight in 2015 when she was promoted to Brigadier.
This was a position that no woman had held in the male-dominated KDF.
She joined the military in 1983 in the now-defunct Women’s Service Corps.
In 1984, she got into the military academy as an officer cadet and after graduation became a second lieutenant.
President William Ruto also promoted Lieutenant General Charles Muriu Kahariri to the rank of General and appointed him the Chief of the Defence Forces (CDF).
The position was vacant after the death of General Francis Ogolla in a helicopter crash.
Fatuma Ahmed holds a degree from the National Defence College and the Institute of Diplomacy and International Studies.
She also has a diploma in management from Strathmore University.
Some of the positions she held on her way to becoming a Major General are:
• Battalion Second in Command (BN 2IC)
• Staff Officer II Audit Personnel and Records
• Staff Officer I Personnel and Administration
• Colonel Personnel at the Kenya Air Force Headquarters and Managing Director, Defence Forces Medical Insurance Scheme.
On her appointment as major general, she said it was unexpected as she hadn’t even held her previous position for more than three years.
