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Ruto appoints Fatuma Gaiti Ahmed as first-ever female Air Force Commander

Major General Fatuma Gaiti Ahmed. President William Ruto has appointed her as the first female Air Force commander in the country. (Photo: KDF)

By Mwangi Maina | 02 May 2024

With over 32 years of service, she initially enlisted in 1983 and served under the Women's Service Corps.

Major General Fatuma Gaiti Ahmed continues to break military barriers in Kenya after being appointed as the first woman Air Force commander in the country.

President William Ruto made the historic announcement on Thursday, marking a significant milestone in the history of the Kenya Defence Forces.

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She is the first-ever woman to serve as a service commander. Neither the Kenya Army nor the Kenya Navy has ever been led by a woman before her appointment.

Her appointment was made at the same time the President promoted Lieutenant General Charles Muriu Kahariri to the rank of General and appointed him The Chief of the Defence Forces (CDF).

Fatuma's journey to this prestigious position began in 2015 when former President Uhuru Kenyatta promoted her to the rank of Brigadier, making her the first woman to reach such a rank in the Kenyan military.

With over 32 years of service, she initially enlisted in 1983 and served under the Women's Service Corps.

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta first promoted Fatuma Gaiti Ahmed to the rank of Brigadier.

Her promotion to the rank of Major General in 2021 further solidified her remarkable career.

Fatuma was then posted to the National Defence College, where she served as the Senior Directing Staff Air—a position never before held by a woman in the male-dominated Kenyan military.

She is a distinguished graduate of the National Defence College, affiliated with the University of Nairobi's Institute of Diplomacy and International Studies.

Additionally, she is an alumna of the Defence Staff College and holds a Diploma in Management from Strathmore University College.

Her previous role as Assistant Chief of the Defence Forces in charge of personnel and logistics highlighted her exceptional leadership skills and paved the way for her groundbreaking appointment as the first female Air Force commander in Kenya.

Upon Fatuma's promotion to the rank of Brigadier in 2015, her husband, Major General (Rtd) George Owinoh, a veteran military officer, was appointed as the Kenya Military Academy Commandant.

Later, in 2022, just months before the presidential elections, he was redeployed to the Foreign Service Academy as the Kenyan High Commissioner to Uganda. He served as the Kenyan envoy until recently when a new High Commissioner was named.