Fatumah Ahmed is the first major-general in Kenya Defence Forces following her appointment by President Uhuru Kenyatta on July 13, 2018. She is also Kenya’s first female Brigadier of the Kenya Defence Forces. She was promoted from Colonel to Brigadier on 11 August 2015 by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Kenya. In addition, she was appointed Managing Director of the Defence Forces Medical Insurance Scheme (DEFMIS), making her the first woman to hold such a post.
The Aga Khan High School alumnus joined the Kenya Defence Forces in 1983 after completing high school, and served under the Women’s Service Corps whose mandate was to provide support for fighting units, especially in the administrative roles, as well as to provide employment opportunities for women in the male-dominated field. When the Women’s Corps was disbanded in 1999, its members were deployed to the three services, and Ahmed landed in the Air Force serving in human resources. The mother of three is married to Major General George Owino who is the commandant of the Kenya Military Academy. She has served at the UN Secretariat in the peacekeeping department operations where she was the training officer. In 2001, she served on a peacekeeping mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The graduate of the National Defence College and the Kenya Military Academy has served in the defence forces for over 30 years. Some of her notable appointments during her years of service include: Staff Officer II Audit Personnel Records, Battalion Second Command (BN 21C), Colonel Personnel at the Kenya Air Force Headquarters and the Staff Officer I Personnel and Administration.