Nairobi County legislators have threatened to take legal action against Defence Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya over the minister's failure to respond to their grievances concerning the recently announced Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) recruitment exercise.
Led by the County Senator, Edwin Sifuna, the lawmakers accused Tuya of blatantly ignoring their letter in which they demanded allocation of more KDF recruitment centres in Nairobi.
Addressing the press on Wednesday morning, the MPs and Senators said they would explore all avenues, including legal redress and parliamentary summons, to sort out the matter.
"We have represented the issues to the minister; she does not even have the courtesy and the respect for the people we represent, to respond to the issues we have asked," Sifuna lamented.
"How else do we get our people heard? I will support the decision we will make. We must pursue all avenues, we will go to court, we will bring her to parliament so that the voice of the Nairobi residents can be heard," he added.
According to Sifuna, while they expected the CS to convene a special meeting to address the issue, Tuya neither responded to their letter nor did she address the grievances raised therein.
The stalemate began a week ago after about 18 Members of Parliament from Nairobi County faulted the advertised recruitment of KDF soldiers, terming it unfair and lacking transparency.
In a letter signed by the lawmakers and dated September 16, the parliamentarians argued that the recruitment exercise was skewed against Nairobi County after KDF designated only a few recruitment centres.
KDF in its schedule had designated Nyayo Stadium to serve the Embakasi East, West, South and North, Kamukunji, Makadara and Starehe constituencies.
In the itinerary, Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, was designated to serve residents of Kasarani, Ruaraka, Mathare and Roysambu Constituencies.
For the residents of Dagoretti North and South, Lang'ata, Kibra and Westlands, the notice directed the locals to present themselves at Jamhuri Grounds for vetting.
In their letter, the lawmakers argued that the consolidation of these recruitment centres posed a logistical nightmare since other counties had been allocated recruitment centres for each Sub-County.
Meanwhile, KDF on September 14 formally announced the recruitment of military officers for various ranks, calling on qualified individuals to send their applications.
Those seeking to apply for the positions were urged to submit their applications before October 12, with the shortlisted candidates expected to be notified between October 21 and October 24.
