Joan Osweto: Female ADC Accompanies William Ruto to Sagana
- Lieutenant Colonel Joan Osweto is on the verge of making history as the first woman to serve as an Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to a Kenyan president
- She took over the position of Brigadier Fabian Lengusuranga, accompanying President William Ruto to Nyeri for the Kenya music festival
- It is, however, not lost that she deputises Lengusuranga, and this would be her second time behind the president after her first public appearance at the same event and venue
Kai Eli, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings more than three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.
Soon, Kenya might have the first woman to serve as the president's Aide-de-Camp (ADC).
Source: Twitter
Lieutenant Colonel Joan Osweto from the Kenya Navy is on the verge of making that history.
She was the one behind President William Ruto on Saturday, August 16, as the head of state graced the 97th Kenya Music Festival State Concert, Sagana State Lodge in Nyeri County.
Osweto took over the position of Brigadier Fabian Lengusuranga from the Kenya Army.
Lengusuranga has served as Ruto's ADC for close to three years since October 2022.
He was promoted to the brigadier rank in June this year, an upgrade from a colonel.
Osweto deputises Lengusuranga; interestingly, her first appearance serving Ruto as ADC was in the last year's edition of the music festival and in the same venue.
If she substantively assumes the ADC roles, the officer will be the first Kenyan woman to do so.
She would add to the list of military women who have broken the ceiling to establish new norms.
Recently, the first woman to have ever served as the commander of a Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) branch retired after 42 years in the service.
Retired Major General Fatuma Ahmed Gaiti rose the ranks over the decades to earn her place in the military.
She was first commissioned as a military officer in 1985 after completing officer training at the Kenya Military Academy (KMA), two years after joining the army.
Gaiti would then rise gradually to serve in various capacities that entail leadership, management, and command.
Her career includes a long tenure as a staff officer from December 1999 to July 2015, during which she attained the rank of colonel.
Between 2005 and 2008, she also worked as a training officer with the United Nations Integrated Training Service in New York. Earlier, she served as a military observer in the MONUC peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 2001 to 2002.
In July 2015, she advanced to the rank of brigadier and was appointed as the managing director of the Defence Forces Medical Insurance Scheme.
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Her steady rise continued in July 2018 when former president Uhuru Kenyatta promoted her to the major general rank, and consequently being appointed the assistant Chief of Defence Forces in charge of personnel and logistics.
Gaiti would later be charged with leading the Kenya Military Academy as its commandant, a post she held for two years between 2021 and 2023.
Alongside her career was a strong educational background.
Gaiti holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sustainable Human Development and is advancing her academic journey with a Master’s degree in Social Transformation at Tangaza University College.
Additionally, she completed a Diploma in Management at Strathmore University, further strengthening her leadership and administrative expertise.
Her distinguished service has earned her numerous honours, such as the Chief of the Order of the Burning Spear (CBS), the Order of the Grand Warrior (OGW), and the Operation Linda Nchi Campaign Medal, among other commendations.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
