Exit the General who led Kenya to war
General Julius Waweru Karangi will easily be remembered as the Chief of Defence Forces who led Kenyan troops to war, the first time in the country’s history.
Under his command, Kenyan troops were deployed in October 2011 to fight Al-Shabaab in Somalia.
The successes of the battle against the Al-Qaeda-linked group erased past rhetoric, which portrayed Kenya Defence Forces as an assembly of “career soldiers,” with no experience in active combat.
Gen Karangi changed the unfounded assertions and going by recent reports grading Africa’s militaries, KDF emerged as a mighty regional force.
The ultimate victory in Somalia came on September 28, 2012 with the capture of Kismayu, which had served as Al-Shabaab’s bastion. The event catapulted Gen Karangi’s status beyond Kenyan borders.
Last year, United States President Barack Obama awarded him the Legion of Merit (Degree of Commander) for his successes in Somalia.
General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US armed forces and the highest-ranking officer in the US military, invited him to the US to receive the award.
The award singled out the capture of Kismayu, and also cited Gen Karangi for “exceptionally meritorious service” between July 2011 and March 2013.
“He authorised an execution of a complex combined arms operation that successfully employed land, sea, and aerospace elements to liberate the port of Kismayo, Somalia.
SURPRISE ATTACK
Working strategically with international partners and regional leaders, General Karangi played a key role in shifting the political affiliation of the Somalia militia and reinforcing respect for the Somali people,” according to the citation that came with the award.
Gen Karangi received it on July 17, 2014 at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, which is the headquarters of the US military.
The capture of Kismayu cannot be told without a reference to the famous amphibious assault, the second of its kind in Africa, in which the KDF launched a surprise attack from the Indian Ocean.
It was the brainchild of Kenya’s generals, led by Gen Karangi, who duped Al-Shabaab that a land attack was imminent only for the troops to launch a sea-born operation under cover of darkness. The amphibious attack was appropriately dubbed “Operation Sledge Hammer”.
And before the terrorist group’s commanders knew it, KDF Humvees had rolled into Kismayu streets, having taken over the port, airport and other key installations.
The citation also praised Gen Karangi for seamlessly integrating the African Union Mission and Kenyan concepts of the operation and bringing stability in Somalia.
While in the US, Gen Karangi inspected a full guard of honour mounted by all the services of the US military at the Pentagon and also flew in one of their F-16 fighter jets.
Though known to be a man of few words, he has repeatedly made it clear that holding the highest office in the Kenya Defence Forces was a source of great personal pride.
Gen Karangi would often, in his speeches, let the audience know he was rightly introduced as a ‘full’ general and comically note that his title was not a hyphenated one.
DISMANTLED CARTELS
He would be alluding to ranks below him such as Lieutenant-General and Major-General, as well as other titles used in civilian postings like Director-General and Commissioner-General, and so on.
In the last weeks of his tenure, he delegated some of his duties to Vice Chief of Defence Forces Lt-Gen Samson Mwathethe.
On several occasions, the number two man was at the airport to receive President Kenyatta as he returned from foreign trips besides other functions.
One of his close allies said he had managed to dismantle cartels that influenced multimillion-dollar tenders at DoD in which public funds were previously lost.
Gen Karangi’s tenure also marked the military’s increased active participation in internal security, hitherto a preserve of the police and other security agencies.
Retired Army Captain Simiyu Werunga said the trend reflected waning confidence in the ability of the other security agencies.
“The military have a secondary role of augmenting the police, but this frequency is too high. This clearly shows the political leadership’s reduced confidence in the police,” he said
While it is good for the country when the military restores law and order, it is not so in the long term, he adds.
“Any time the military moves in, the tension reduces and the problem disappears. The troops pull out and there are chaos again. In the long term, we need a police service that can play its role,” Mr Werunga said.
Gen Karangi’s timeline
1973: Joins the Kenya Airforce
1975: Qualifies as Flight Navigator
1992/3: Serves as liaison officer in Sarajevo (Bosnia), Senior Military Liaison Officer in Belgrade (Serbia), Senior Military Observer in Belgrade and Croatia, all with the United Nations as a peacekeeper.
1995: Appointed Commander of Kenya Air Force Base, Moi Air Base.
1997: Appointed Commander of the Kenya Air Force Logistics Command
2011: Appointed Chief of Defence Forces