Gen Mwathethe: Duty call or Uhuru Coast pointman?

Last week, Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) General Samson Mwathethe, in an impromptu visit, accompanied President Uhuru Kenyatta to inspect development projects in the South Coast region.

Unlike in past appearances, Gen Mwathethe was in civilian attire, a break from the traditional military outfit.

Senior military and government officials who were present during the tour told the Sunday Nation that the pair was in high spirits, chatting as they toured the Shimoni fish landing site which the government, through the Kenya Ports Authority, is in the process of upgrading into a modern fishing port.

CONFIDANTE

Whereas the President interchangeably travels with a number of senior government and security officials on his tours to the Coast, Gen Mwathethe has remained a permanent fixture during the trips.

Just like his predecessor Julius Karangi, who was a confidante of the President, Gen Mwathethe has emerged as a close ally of the President.

“He not only accompanies the President, but also tasked with briefing him on ongoing development projects in the (Coast) region,” a senior government official who requested not to be named said.

In May, the President affirmed his faith in the military general by extending his tenure as chief of Kenya Defence Forces for one more year.

BLUE ECONOMY

In an unprecedented move, Mr Kenyatta also appointed Gen Mwathethe as the chairman of the Blue Economy Implementation Committee in January 2017, becoming the first serving military general to serve in a position besides his status as the military head.

As the chairman of the Blue Economy, the 59-year-old general coordinates and oversees one of President Kenyatta’s most ambitious development initiatives estimated to have the capacity to inject Sh470 billion to the economy.

It is also estimated that the blue economy, if properly harnessed, has the potential to create over 52,000 jobs in the next 10 years.

One the recent benefits of the close working relationship between the Head of State and the military chief is the ongoing facelift of the Mama Ngina Drive in preparation for the first Mashujaa Day celebration to be held in Mombasa.

The highlight of the historical event will be a maiden sailpast by Kenya Navy’s warships and attack boats in place of the Kenya Air Force jet fighters, which have become a regular feature during national celebrations.

SHIPYARD

The sailpast is expected to introduce members of the public to the increasing modernisation of the Kenya Navy and other key investments in the country’s maritime economy.

As part of the maritime economy blueprint, several projects have been launched or earmarked in the region, creating employment opportunities for locals.

Early this month, President Kenyatta toured the new slipway shipyard at Mtongwe Navy Base, which can handle vessels with a capacity of up to 4,000 tonnes and measuring 150 metres high and 30 metres wide.

A slipway shipyard is a platform on which ships are secured and winched out of water into a working area for repair and maintenance.

The slipway shipyard will also be used in the building, repair and maintenance of Kenya’s maritime vessels, which have previously been repaired in Spain.

The country’s first slipway shipyard was built in 1988 and was meant to repair and maintain smaller vessels with a maximum capacity of 950 tonnes and less than 60 metres long.

Further, the slipway shipyard will be used for pulling of large tourist ships from the deep seas to the shores.

“We are repositioning our military to be a catalyst for development and industrialisation,” Defence Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo says.

CRUDE OIL

Last month, Gen Mwathethe joined the President during the flagging-off of Kenya’s maiden crude oil export.

The 200 barrels of oil from the Turkana oilfields worth Sh1.3 billion are being exported to Malaysia after a Chinese company, Chemchina, operating in the Asian country, bought the first batch of the Kenyan crude oil.

As a high-value national asset, commandos from the Kenya Defence Forces were providing security to the crude oil, whose exploration is part of the Blue Economy.

Men from Kenya Navy are also providing security to MV Tafiti, which is involved in maritime research.

In July, the military chief joined Mr Kenyatta for the commissioning of the Bandari Academy in Mombasa County.

Before that, the duo launched the Kenya Coast Guard in November last year.

FISHING

Since the launch last year, according to reports by the Fisheries department, the country has more than doubled its fish stocks.

“This is an effort created to enforce law and order in the national waters, oceans, lakes and rivers so as to ensure maritime safety, security, pollution control and promote sanitation,” Gen. Mwathethe said during the launch.

The increased closer ties between President Kenyatta and Gen Mwathethe come at a time when the country is locked in a maritime dispute with Somalia.

The President has also extended the mandate of the KDF to the fight against corruption with the involvement of the military in the multiagency task force which is working towards fighting graft.