Why KDF Soldier Was Rewarded After Near-Bloodbath With Police

Lt. Colonel Abdulaziz Mohammed is a name famous in military circles over his key role at the Kenya-Somalia border before KDF soldiers crossed over into the neighboring country to stem the ever increasing Al Shabaab threat.

Daily Nation reported on Wednesday, October 23, that the soldier, who is currently the commander of the National Defence College in Nairobi, is among the group of very few recipients of the Silver Star, which is recognized worldwide as the medal of distinguished valor.

Abdulaziz narrated that in 2011, former President Mwai Kibaki issued an order, stating that there would be no goods or people leaving or coming into the country from neighboring Somalia, and his team was tasked with enforcing that directive.

KDF soldiers during one of their patrols at the Kenya-Somalia border. Lt. Colonel Abdulaziz reported that in one of such patrols, he came across rogue police officers transporting women and children from the Somalia region into Kenya.

He stated that while on patrol, he came across a lorry packed with women and children from Somalia and a heavy consignment of sugar, escorted by police officers who when questioned, directed him to their inspector.

He immediately ordered them to drive the truck to the nearby Liboyi Police Station, but the police officers instead drove the truck to their camp, where Abdulaziz met the rude and uncooperative inspector in charge of the unit.

"Being the most senior officer within that area, I was in charge of the security operations, and I expected that they would have followed my instructions, but they did not," he regretted.

He narrated that he ordered his team to drive to the police station to book the vehicle and its goods, but police officers at the venue, having gotten wind of the military's arrival, had already prepared to prevent them from walking into the station.

"They had already deployed officers against the fence and they told us, 'if you are men, come in'. You know by then, I had armored vehicles. If we had decided to use them against the police, nothing would have survived there," he explained.

The soldier alleged that the only thing that stood between them and a sure bloodbath was a single command that he could have issued, but he restrained his soldiers until the district officer, who had been sent by the provincial commissioner, arrived and ordered the police officers to disperse.

He claimed that by the time they had managed to book the vehicle and its contents in the Occurrence Book (OB), the women and children in the vehicle had already melted into the crowd.

One of the armoured vehicles used by the Kenya Defence Forces troops in the battle against al-Shabaab insurgents in Somalia.

He also narrated that the owner of the contraband sugar tried to bribe him with Ksh 500,000 but he turned him over to the authorities, where he was charged and fined Ksh1.8 million.

Abdulaziz further recalled that after news of the exploits reached senior government officials the entire police unit was disbanded, new officers brought. 

These are some of the exploits that catapulted Abdulaziz into the leagues of the chosen few in the Kenya Army.