Biography.guide
Home › People › Military officer › Mohammed Hussein Ali
Portrait of Mohammed Hussein Ali

Mohammed Hussein Ali

b. 1956

Commissioner of the Kenya Police; Chief Executive of the Postal Corporation of Kenya

Military officer Police officer Postal Corporation of Kenya
Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Mohammed Hussein Ali

Born 1956. Mohammed Hussein Ali is a Kenyan military officer, police officer and postal Corporation of Kenya.

Major General Mohammed Hussein Ali (; born 1956 in Eldoret) is a Kenyan military commander. He was formerly commissioner of the Kenya Police. He was the chief executive of the Postal Corporation of Kenya from 2009 to 2012.

Early life Ali's family belongs to the Sheekhaal, an ethnic Somali clan.

Ali went to Uasin Gishu High School and then proceeded to Kolanya Boys' High School in Busia District. He dropped out of high school after the death of his father to take care of his four younger siblings.

Career Military In 1977, Ali joined the Kenyan Army. He was eventually promoted to brigadier in 2003 and to major general in 2005. During his military career, he served as a military attaché in Zimbabwe and Uganda, and was commanding officer of the Kenya Army 20 Parachute Battalion, as well as 50 Air Cavalry Battalion in Embakasi. He is also a former chairman of the Ulinzi Stars football club.

Police Ali was appointed to the position of commissioner of the Kenya Police in 2004 by the former president of Kenya, Mwai Kibaki, while then holding the rank of brigadier in the Kenya Army.

Crackdown on the Mungiki sect Starting 2007, Ali's charges in the Kenyan police began severely cracking down on the notorious Mungiki sect, a local politico-religious group and banned criminal organisation known for, among other things, decapitating policemen. For this perceived excessive use of force on its part, the police drew heavy criticism from human rights groups, particularly over the deaths of several hundred youth in its custody without trial over alleged links to the sect.

2008 post-election crisis In 2008, controversy also surrounded the Kenyan Police's response to the violence that rocked the country following a disputed presidential election, especially regarding a "shoot to kill" order that was alleged to have come out of Ali's office. According to a report investigating the post-election violence, gunshot wounds most likely from police guns were the biggest single cause of death among the fatalities. On 15 December 2010, Ali was named in a summons by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Luis Moreno-Ocampo, in relation to his putative role in the events that followed the 2007 elections. The ICC prosecution alleged that Ali authorised the use of excessive force and facilitated attacks against supporters of the opposition Orange Democratic Movement during the period's post-election violence. On 23 January 2012 the ICC pre-trial Chamber II led by Judge Ekaterina Trendafilova ruled that there was not enough evidence against Mr Ali to sustain the charges. Alston reported that there was abundant evidence linking Ali to a central role in devising and overseeing the policy of extrajudicially executing large numbers of suspected criminals. According to the report, Ali refused to acknowledge that any unlawful killings were taking place, and prevented all transparency. This was despite at least one observer describing him in the Nairobi Chronicle as "without doubt, the most effective police chief Kenya has seen in a long time". While never shying away from making use of all of the available means open to him as head of Kenya's Police, during his time as commissioner, Ali, among other things, re-equipped the police with new patrol trucks and vehicles, secured modern policing equipment for his charges, revitalised the police over the long term by increasing the recruitment of officers, and improved the sharing of information between the police and the public.

Postal Corporation On 8 September 2009, Ali was transferred from his position as police commissioner to chief executive of the Postal Corporation of Kenya.

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Born
1956, Eldoret
Birth century
Nationality
Also known as
Major General Mohammed Hussein Ali

People in Mohammed Hussein Ali's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Mohammed Hussein Ali's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Mohammed Hussein Ali?

Commissioner of the Kenya Police; Chief Executive of the Postal Corporation of Kenya

When was Mohammed Hussein Ali born?

Mohammed Hussein Ali was born in 1956 in Eldoret.

What is Mohammed Hussein Ali's occupation?

Mohammed Hussein Ali is a military officer, police officer and postal Corporation of Kenya.

What nationality is Mohammed Hussein Ali?

Mohammed Hussein Ali is Kenyan.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Mohammed Hussein Ali

· Wikidata: Q1942594

· DBpedia: Mohammed Hussein Ali

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Mohammed Hussein Ali. https://biography.guide/mohammed-hussein-ali/

MLA: "Mohammed Hussein Ali." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/mohammed-hussein-ali/.

Chicago: "Mohammed Hussein Ali." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/mohammed-hussein-ali/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 05:25 UTC