In this paper, I will focus on the development of an independent Kenyan military in the years around independence. I will trace the progress of Africanisation of the Kenyan Army in the years around independence (c1957-65). While the importance of Africanisation is widely recognised, this paper seeks to quantify the Africanisation of the Kenyan officer class, highlighting the often very fast rate of promotion through the ranks that occurred for many. I will also draw links with the training in Britain some of these newly commissioned officers had received just prior to their commissions, and from which these resulted. The experience of training in Britain will form an important background to the paper and will highlight the security alliance between the two countries. I will also consider the importance of this first group of African officers for the subsequent development of the Kenyan military. My research is revealing the extent to which this first group who were trained dominated the key positions in the military over the following decades, certainly into the 1990s. This shows the importance of this group of men who were promoted around independence. It is well recognised about Kenya’s political and business elite that those who were prominent in the years around independence often remained so for a long time afterwards. This paper reveals that this process was equally true of the military.