Senior officials in the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) were on Tuesday, March 2 put on the spot over allegations of massive bribery in the just concluded recruitment drive.
The Vice Chief of the Defence Forces Levi Mghalu appeared before the National Assembly Security Committee where his team was grilled on the transparency levels in the exercise. Mghalu was accompanied by Defence PS Ibrahim Mohammed.
Appearing before the Defence and Foreign Relations Committee, the two were asked about the cases of corruption and bias going around involving KDF.
The committee chair, Kajiado South MP Katoo ole Metito, also raised concerns over why a handful of candidates had been selected in some constituents and more in others.
Changamwe MP Omar Mwinyi enquired about the criteria used by the officers to recruit, further stating that despite the large turnout in Changamwe, only two people had been picked from the lot.
The allegations on collection of bribes from applicants in order to be selected were brought up in a debate in parliament by senators.
Narok Senator Ledama OleKina had in February stated that corruption during the exercise had ruined the whole essence of the recruitment drive and was now a waste of the country's resources.
"Whenever there's a recruitment drive, people allege that they pay bribes from Ksh 300,000, with some senior officers demanding up to Ksh 700,000 to enlist recruits into the military.
"This is not only criminal but a threat to our national security," he observed.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) arrested two sub-county police commanders on February 25 in Nyeri County who allegedly demanded a bribe of Ksh 500,000.
Military officer, Andrew Muoki, was court-martialed over allegations that he had received bribes from 2 young people who had sought to join KDF in 2019.
The officer allegedly obtained a sum of Ksh300,000 from one Edwin Kinywa, and another Ksh180,000 from another individual identified as Nelson Kabwere Mandela through false pretense.
Senator Ole Kina urged the Cabinet Secretary of Defence to ensure fair opportunities for recruits who wished to join the service.
"I urge the Standing Committee on National Defence and Foreign relations to investigate the matter and come up with a more accountable way of carrying out the process," he stated.
