Major Ibrahim Juma Wasike of the Kenya Defence Forces was, on January 20, sentenced to five years and eight months in prison after a Court Martial found him guilty of recruitment malpractices.
The Court Martial, which sat at the Lang'ata Barracks, Nairobi, comprised two Senior Military Officers and the Principal Magistrate of the Makadara Law Courts.
According to a statement from KDF, the Martial Court found Wasike guilty of extorting Ksh100,000 from a candidate hoping to be recruited into the forces.
Wasike, reportedly colluded with an accomplice pretending to have the capacity to recruit the victim in February 2021.
"The first count is committing a civil offence contrary to section 133 (1) (b) of the KDF Act, obtaining by false pretence contrary to section 313 of the penal code," the Court Martial stated.
Further, the general was accused of extorting Ksh60,000 from another interested candidate in the same manner as the first count through a mobile money transfer service.
Each counts convicted him to a sentence of two years and ten months, which according to KDF, will run concurrently.
However, Wasike was granted 21 days to file an appeal against the sentencing.
Wasike's sentencing came amid complaints from a section of Kenyans regarding the integrity and transparency of the recruitment process.
Despite the firm stance of the Ministry of Defence in denying corruption allegations in the forces, the institution was subjected to harsh criticism in the 2021 recruitment as a cross-section of the public ranted at the alleged skewed nature of recruitment.
On its part, the Defence Ministry warned the public and its officers against succumbing to the temptations of bribery.
The Senate launched a probe into the matter after it was alleged that some officers demanded bribes to the tune of up to Ksh700,000.
