Major General Fatuma Ahmed Gaiti is the first woman in the military in Kenya to achieve the rank of Major General. She was also the first woman in August 2015 to be promoted to a Brigadier. She is now the new Assistant Chief of the Defence Forces in charge of personnel and logistics.
She enlisted in Kenyan military in 1983 in the Kenya Defence Forces in 1983 and served under the Women Service Corps. She was commissioned to the rank of Second Lieutenant in 1985 and posted to the Kenya Air Force.
Some of the notable appointments in the course of her 32 years of service include:
• Battalion Second in Command (BN 2IC)
• Staff Officer II Audit Personnel and Records
• Staff Officer I Personnel and Administration
• Colonel Personnel at the Kenya Air Force Headquarters and Managing Director, Defence Forces Medical Insurance Scheme.
She is a graduate of the National Defence College, one of the Military Centers of Excellence, an affiliate of the University of Nairobi’s Institute of Diplomacy and International Studies. She is also an alumni of the Defence Staff College where she graduated in July 2000, in addition she holds a Diploma in Management from Strathmore University College.