New Kenyan Defense Minister Appointed after Garissa

Security personal turnover in the Kenyan government follow the failures of the Garissa attack. As the mix-up of senior level advisors continues, Kenya’s Chief of Defense Forces Julius Karangi is retiring after 42 years of service and is expected to take a newly created position as National Security Advisor. General Karangi’s successor will be Lieutenant-General Samson Mwathethe. These moves within the Kenyan government come after heavily politicized scrutiny with how the administration and security forces handled the attack in Garissa, Kenya where 147 students were slain by al-Shabaab. jihadists.

Lt. General Samson Mwathethe joined the Kenyan Nany in April 1978 and was commissioned as a Seaman Officer after graduation from Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth. He is a former Kenya Navy Commander and held the distinguished positions of Kenyan Navy Logistics Commander, Base Commander Mtongwe, and Fleet Commander.

Other noteworthy changes made by the Defense Council include Lieutenant-General Joseph Kasaon as Vice Chief of Defense Forces designate and Major-General Leonard Ngondi as army commander-designate.

In the present time, a drastic move like this within a government should be looked at in a cause and effect analysis. It would be foolish to not interpret al-Shabaab’s military operations in Kenya as part of a regional dominance. The fear of African analysts is that al-Shabaab, realizing the decapitated state of East Africa, will slowly adapt the behaviors of Boko Haram and the Islamic State for the broadly recognized global jihad movement.