Fact Check: Truth Behind David Kimaiyo Tarus Replacing CDF Francis Ogolla

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David Kimaiyo being sworn in as Commander Kenya Army on March 8, 2024 at State House, Nairobi.

For the better part of the morning of Monday, April 22, a video purporting that Kenya Army Commander Lieutenant General David Kimaiyo Tarus had been sworn in as the new Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) went viral.

This was after Kenya lost Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Francis Ogolla to a chopper crash on Thursday, April 18.

A fact-check by Kenyans.co.ke revealed that the video circulating online and its subsequent captions were doctored.

The clip was taken on March 8, 2024, at State House Nairobi when Kimaiyo was being promoted as commander of Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).

President William Ruto is yet to appoint a replacement for Francis Ogolla and as such, Kenyans.co.ke flags the circulating video as fake.

Tarus who hails from Uasin Gishu County was enlisted in the Kenya Army in 1988 and has risen through the ranks to become one of the top military officers in the republic. 

According to the Ministry of Defence, Tarus has served as an Instructor at the Peace Support Training Centre, Joint Command and Staff College for Grade Three Staff Course and as Senior Directing Staff at the Joint Warfare Centre.

He has also served as a Staff Officer at Western and Eastern Commands Headquarters as well as Kenya Army and Defence Headquarters.

For relevant military courses, Kimaiyo has attended National Defence College, Joint Warfare College, and USA Leavenworth among others.

Tarus is also one of the most learned soldiers in the country with a Master of Science (USA), Bachelor of Military Science (Egerton University), Diploma in Strategic Studies and Diploma in International Relations (University of Nairobi).

He has been engaged in various peacekeeping missions across the world notably the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) and United Nations and African Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

It is not yet reported if the decorated lieutenant general was among the list of army servicemen seeking to replace the late CDF Ogolla. 

Source:Kenyans.co.ke