A blind mother in Kirinyaga County walked 10km to support her son as he sought to be recruited into the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).
Rose Wanjiku who hails from Gatugura village walked all the way to General Kassam in Kianyaga, Gichugu, Kirinyaga County, where her son was auditioning for the Kenya Defence Forces recruitment.
She wanted to be there for the son as he tried his luck after KDF announced mass recruitment. Despite her visual impairment, she was convinced that her presence was essential, and would help show support for her son.
Kenya Defence forces announced the mass recruitment exercise across the country on Sunday, February 7, for General Service Units, Specialist Officers, General Duty Recruits, Constables, Tradesmen, and Women.
The recruitment which began on Monday, February 8, aims at recruiting 4,400 Kenyans from the 327 gazetted sub-counties. The exercise is expected to run till Friday, February 19 after which the qualified recruits will be announced through print media.
The Ministry of Health guidelines is strictly observed during the recruitment and training exercises. All in attendance are required to wear makes and maintain social distances. Document verification and medical tests take two weeks after which the training begins.
The training exercise is broken down into sections including Career Development, Marksmanship (skills in shooting), Drill and Duty, Field Craft, and Physical Fitness lessons.
KDF training is known to be tough and intense, capable of draining an individual thus the presence of a parent or a guardian gives the recruits courage to endure the process.
On Friday, February 12, former Langobaya councillor Joseph Saro came to witness his son try his luck during the recruitment. He was among top candidates but unfortunately died hours after going through the exercise - and having been disqualified.
Applicants with underlying medical conditions have been discouraged from taking part in the rigorous recruitment process.
