Lieutenant-General (rtd) Daniel Opande

Daniel Ishmael Opande is a retired Kenyan military officer, who rose to the rank of Lieutenant General in the Kenyan Army and has had an illustrious career which included service in leadership positions in various UN peacekeeping mission.

Lieutenant-General Opande , was Kenya's Vice-Chief of General Staff following which he took over as the Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) in 2003. Since November 2000, he has served with distinction as Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL).

General Opande served as Deputy Force Commander with the United Nations Transitional Assistance Group in Namibia (UNTAG) from 1989 to 1990. He represented Kenya in the Mozambican peace process as a facilitator and negotiator between the Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO) and the Government of Mozambique from 1990 to 1993, and served as Chief Military Observer of the United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL) from 1993 to 1995.


Lieutenant-General Opande is a graduate of Mons Officer Cadet School in Aldershot UK, where he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1964. He has served as Commandant of the National Defence College, Kenya's highest military institution. General Opande is also a graduate of the British Army Staff College and the United States National Defense University.