- The Ministry of Defence has denied allegations that the recent military recruitment exercise was stained by high-level bribery.
- CS Monica Juma said that while cases of foul play exist and are always raised during the exercise, some of the claims are excuses peddled by those who lost out.
Image: DOUGLAS OKIDDY
The Ministry of Defence has denied allegations that the recent military recruitment exercise was stained by high-level bribery.
CS Monica Juma said that while cases of foul play exist and are always raised during the exercise, some of the claims are excuses peddled by those who lost out.
Juma said that her Ministry and the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) do not condone corruption, pointing out that the penalty for conviction is outright dismissal from service.
“The Ministry and KDF have a zero-tolerance policy on corruption. The policy is in place and is being enforced,” she said.
Even so, she encouraged the public to report all cases of recruitment malpractices and provide evidence of such cases.
“Bad elements are everywhere and hard to identify. All cases of bribery and corruption that have been reported and those involving military personnel have been investigated and are being dealt with,” she said.
The CS was speaking when she appeared before the Committee on National Security of the Senate to respond to allegations of malpractices in the exercise carried out last February and which were raised by lawmakers.
The committee is chaired by Kisumu Senator Fred Outa.
The matter was raised in the House by Narok senator Ledama Ole Kina who argued that corruption in the recruitment into security forces is a waste of time because it has compromised national security.
While demanding a statement from the Ministry, the senator told the House last February that KDF officers demand heavy bribes from between Sh300,000 to Sh700,000 to enlist recruits.
“This is not only criminal but a threat to our national security," he told the House in February, adding that KDF is supposed to uphold national values and principles of governance with a high standard of professionalism.
“The recruitment has already been determined therefore causing many youths to be disillusioned and dejected,” Mr Ole Kina told the House, challenging the KDF to offer fair opportunity to all youths
Yesterday, the CS admitted there are cases of bribery but disagreed that its extent is so deep as to compromise national security and those of the KDF troops.
“KDF has endeavoured to ensure its recruitment achieves the face of Kenya which has been successful to a greater extent,” she told the committee.
A total of 22 bribery claims were reported in relation to the February recruitment drive involving 12 civilians and 10 military personnel.
The Military Police compiled the case files and forwarded them to the directorate of military prosecutions and as a result, the 10 army men are facing court-martial at both Kahawa and Lang’ata Barracks for various recruitment malpractices.
Juma said the cases involving the 12 civilians are being handled by the DPP and DCI as the military has no jurisdiction over them.
However, Ole Kina said the response is not satisfactory accusing the CS of behaving as if everything she said was true.
“You have merely attempted to answer the question but it is not satisfactory,” he said, demanding that the CS makes public a list of all the individuals recruited during the exercise.
But the CS refused to provide the details arguing that they touch on national security and can only do so through a session in camera
Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula said there is nothing sensitive with the number of those recruited from the sub-counties and threatened to invoke article 35 of the constitution to compel the CS to provide the information.
“You are a stranger in the palace. There is a strong cabal of uniformed officers at the Defence headquarters that is running bribery rings on recruitment and which you can’t know,” he said, urging the CS to institute an inquiry on the bribery allegation.