Major General Peter kakowou Lavahun – RSLAF
COMMANDER JOINT FORCES,
OF THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE ARMED FORCES.

BACKGROUND
Major General Peter Kakowou Lavahun COOR psc fndu Mss, assumed duties of Commander Joint Force, Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) on 17 June 2020. An alumnus of the National Defence University, China, Major General Peter Kakowou was enlisted into the Armed Forces in November 1988 at Daru Barracks, and Commissioned as an Infantry Officer on 24 July 1991, at the Benguema Training Centre, now Armed Forces Training Centre.


Major General Lavahun has served in a variety of appointment, including Staff, Instructional and Command appointments, both at the operational and strategic levels. Notable among the appointments held are Battalion and Brigade Commander, Provost Marshall (Army Headquarters), Director of Personnel (Ministry of Defence), and variety of operational positions during which time he was deployed to the Republic of Kenya as liaison officer to the Ministry of Defence, Republic of Kenya. His work in Kenya laid a solid foundation for the deployment of the RSLAF to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in April 2013.


Prior to his appointment as Joint Force Commander, General Lavahun was the Assistant Chief of Defence Staff, Personnel and Military Secretary. General Lavahun has had an exemplary and impeccable service spanning over 30 years with the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces. He is a veteran of the Sierra Leone Civil War and a distinguished recipient of several honours and awards, some of which are Long Service and Good Conduct Medal and Commander of the Order of Rokel.


General Lavahun holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone and a Master’s Degree in Peace and Development Studies at the Njala University, Sierra Leone. He also holds a Master’s in Military Science and strategy from National Defence University. China and is an eminent graduate of the Defence Institute of International Legal Studies, United States of America.

FAMILY
He is married and the union is blessed with children.