Moses Njiriri Mburu gave four years and 152 days of his life to the military but soon lost his hearing, his peace of mind and suffered back injuries.
So passionate was he about his work that once he listed up in 1978, he actively took part in armed forces Olympics.
But fate had a different plan.
On August 1, 1982, the day the botched coup was executed by a band of junior Kenya Air Force soldiers, he was in his house outside the Eastleigh barracks where he lived with his family. He was off-duty for seven days because he had taken part in the Olympics.
He said a military Land Rover pulled over and ordered him to go to the camp and report to the armoury. He was given arms and ordered to report to the station at the Sergeant’s mess.
At about 2pm, a siren sounded and Mburu together with other officers left the mess and went outside.
Kenya Army officers arrived and surrounded them, fired shots in the air, ordered them to drop their arms, raise their hands and lie down on the ground.
Alongside others, Mburu was ordered to crawl on his knees for about 300 metres while being hit with gun butts.
After about 200 metres, their clothes were torn and Mburu refused to move any further because he was bleeding. He was beaten ruthlessly with gun butts on his right ear and back.
To date, he cannot hear well and he suffers constant back pains. The Major ordered the beatings to stop and they were locked in the hangers.
A series of torture tactics and imprisonment were applied on Mburu and his colleagues, seeking to get a confession of their participation in the coup.
The tales are similar or worse for 280 other former soldiers axed after the coup, telling their stories in a court case that has dragged on for ages.
The Court of Appeal in a November 24, 2023 judgment, agreed that the High Court was right to give the lot a sum of Sh500 million in compensation.
Charles Kamande Kanari was also caught in the melee of the attempted coup.
At the time, he was 29 years old and was at Nyeri ASK show ground, helping his sister-in-law man a stand during the exhibitions.
The news about the coup reached him in whispers like any other person after he heard people discussing in groups and in hushed tones.
Not long, he heard the announcement about the attempt to overthrow the government over the radio and an order for all military personnel to report their bases.
He travelled to Eastleigh base where at around 4pm the same day, Kenya Army officers started shooting in the air telling people to raise their hands and surrender.
Kanari surrendered, knelt down and together with others, they were ordered to crawl on their knees on a tarmac surface for about 600 yards. After about 100 yards, his knees started bleeding and he could not move any further.
Army officers hit him with gun butts on the cheek and he lost some teeth. As a result, he bled profusely and had to be rushed to the dispensary in an ambulance.
He was stitched and taken back to the barracks where he was stripped naked and locked in a room with others. They had no bedding and were not given food or water.
A series of beating, waterboarding, denial of food and being confined in crammed spaces followed before they were eventually thrown into prison.
For Kelvin Okeyo Ogutu, he was beaten until he passed out for an unknown period of time. He was a soldier based at Kahawa Garrison and on the date of the failed coup, he was in his Githurai house with family.
He heard the announcement on radio and order to report to station and on his way there, a military lorry found him and ordered him in. While at the Garrison, senseless beatings were the order.
Josephat Mwangi was ordered to feed on his waste while in a water-logged cell in Naivasha prison. He says besides the beatings and stripping naked, he was put in cold water until his legs started to rot.
The judges said the High Court had not erred in finding that the rights of the soldiers were violated and that they were subjected to inhumane and degrading treatment.
".....we review awards of damages made in previous court decisions on violations of fundamental rights and freedoms from torture or inhuman and degrading treatment for claims filed by ex-service officers of the Kenya Air Force.." the decision in the appeal brought by Attorney General reads.