Col (Rtd) Khalif Aden Shabell brings 30+ years of senior military leadership, including deputy defence attaché in London and command of a Kenyan peacekeeping contingent to Sierra Leone, with UN engagements in Sudan and Ethiopia. After retiring from KDF in 2014, he served IGAD (2017–2022) as senior security adviser to the IGAD Special Envoy to South Sudan, helping set up security mechanisms under the peace agreement. He is a graduate of Camberley Staff College (UK), holds a bachelor’s in sustainable human development (CUEA), and an advanced security studies degree (Nasser Higher Military Academy, Egypt).