Kenya's military chief receives France's highest honour aboard warship

Kenya's Chief of the Defence Forces, General Charles Kahariri, was awarded the Legion of Honour, France's highest order of merit, in a ceremony held aboard the French amphibious assault ship DIXMUDE on Friday, March 13, 2026.

The decoration was presented by France's Ambassador to Kenya, Arnaud Suquet.

At the same ceremony, Major General Joyce Sitienei, Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the Centre for Strategic and Security Studies of the National Defence University-Kenya, received the National Defence Medal at Gold Level.

The Legion of Honour, formally the Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur, is the highest decoration the French Republic can confer.

Established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802, it is awarded for outstanding service in both military and civilian capacities.

General Kahariri has led the Kenya Defence Forces since May 2024, when President William Ruto appointed him CDF following the death of General Francis Ogolla in a helicopter crash in Elgeyo Marakwet County in April of that year.

Kahariri had served as Vice Chief of Defence Forces under Ogolla and assumed acting CDF duties immediately after the crash.

A Navy man by background, he previously served as deputy commander of the Kenya Navy before his posting to the National Defence College.

Kahariri made history as the first CDF in Kenya's military history never to have served as a service commander.

The DIXMUDE is a Mistral-class amphibious assault ship of the French Navy, commissioned in 2012.

It can carry up to 450 troops, 16 heavy helicopters, and 70 vehicles, and has served in operations ranging from Mali to the eastern Mediterranean.

The vessel is currently deployed as part of Mission Jeanne d'Arc 2026, a five-month French Navy training and operational deployment spanning the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and Indo-Pacific.

The choice of a French warship as the venue for the ceremony underlines the military dimension of France-Kenya relations, which extend beyond diplomacy into active operational cooperation.

The ceremony drew a cross-section of senior military figures.

Among those present were the Commander of the Kenya Navy, Major General Paul Otieno, the German Ambassador to Kenya, H.E. Sebastian Groth, and the chairlady of the Military Wives Association of Kenya, Mrs Grace Kahariri.

Senior officers from both Kenya and France also attended.

The dual awards signal France's recognition of Kenya's role in regional security and the strength of military ties between the two countries, which include joint training between the French forces aboard the DIXMUDE and units of the Kenya Navy focused on maritime operations along Kenya's coastline.