Kenya appoints first female air force chief

president of kenya william ruto Appointed the first female commander of the Air Force.

Major General Fatuma Ghaiti Ahmed becomes the first female military chief in Kenya’s history.

She was appointed along with other leaders, including a new military commander, after military commanders were killed in a helicopter crash last month.

The position was vacated by the promotion of General Charles Kahaliri.

Major General Ahmed has previously achieved firsts in male-dominated military leadership. She was the first woman to be promoted to the ranks of brigadier general and major general.

She joined the army in 1983 and served in the Women’s Service Corps, an all-female force that operates as a separate organization from other branches of the Defense Forces.

These were ancillary services that provided support tasks such as administrative tasks, logistics, medical care, and communications.

The unit was disbanded in 1999, and only then were its members allowed to participate in major military missions such as the Navy, Air Force, and Army.

Cooperation with the force has increased opportunities for women to participate in the military service and has also enabled women like Maj. Gen. Ahmed to advance through the ranks.

Her rise is seen as an achievement in promoting gender equality in the military.

When she was promoted to major general in 2018, then-President Uhuru Kenyatta said he hoped she would “set a positive role model for women in this country.”

“I want them to prove that there are no limitations for women,” the president said.

Maj. Gen. Ahmed previously said he was inspired to join the military by his uncle, who was in the military, praising his uncle’s discipline and hard work as “shaping my life from a very early age.”

She said some members of her family discouraged her from joining the military: “They said, ‘That’s not a woman’s profession,'” she told Citizen TV in 2018.

“But I was determined to make a difference in my life,” she said.