Mr David Kisilu Mutua (back left) in this photo during his time in the Kenya Air Force. He was fired and jailed after the botched 1982 coup.
It has been 43 years since the attempted coup that shook the country and President Daniel Moi’s government.
After the attempted coup on August 1, 1982 was suppressed by loyal forces from the Kenya Army, the General Service Unit (GSU) and regular police officers, a serious clampdown of the plotters and their supporters ensued.
Scores of men from the Kenya Air Force, later renamed 82 Air Force, were arrested and sent to detention.
The ex-servicemen and officers were held incommunicado for months where they were denied food, sleep, drinking water and toilet facilities, in a bid to extract a confession from them.
After being court-martialed, the ex-air force personnel were handed varying jail terms, depending on the magnitude of the role they were accused of playing.
Many of them retreated to a quiet life upcountry to farm and other activities away from the lives they were used to.
Scenes in Nairobi in August 1982, in the aftermath of the coup attempt. Police and soldiers subjected civilians to thorough security checks.
With the removal of Kanu from power, most of the officers and soldiers sued the government for the illegal arrest, torture and imprisonment.
While ordering their compensation in one case, High Court judge Louis Onguto said he had no reason to doubt their testimony of bringing the case three decades later, as a repressive regime was not conducive to the filing of a constitutional claim, given that the origin of the claim was a failed coup seeking to overthrow the allegedly repressive government.
The judge was of the view that the periods of their detention were long and unnecessary, and some of them were not arraigned before the court martial.
“It matters little that the petitioners were servicemen; allegations against them ought to have been investigated and dealt with expeditiously. Additionally, the petitioners were not being disciplined or under any disciplinary process of the armed forces to take them out of the ambit of the constitutional provisions,” the judge added in the judgment in 2017.
The more than 300 officers and servicemen won the battle as the court issued various declarations that they had suffered at the hands of an illegal authority called “82 Air Force”, which had no authority to retire, dismiss or terminate their services.
The court also found that they had suffered wrongful torture, arrest, unfair trial, imprisonment and discharge from service without payment of arrears salary, terminal benefits and pension.
As a result, they were awarded both general and aggravated damages and, their pension benefits reinstated as if they had served up to retirement. Additionally, the court restored their ranks, honours and decorations.
It is now more than a decade for most of the ex-servicemen who secure court wins and were awarded compensation for the torture they underwent at the hands of government officers.
In one of the decisions, Justice Matthews Nduma Nderi of the Employment and Labour Relations Court said it was his finding that the pain and suffering they endured at the hands of the government was gross beyond measure.
Subsequent appeals by the attorney-general were dismissed by the ex-servicemen, but the officers are still waiting for compensation and restoration of their honours.
Security officers restore order amid widespread looting in Nairobi city during the 1982 coup attempt. PHOTO/FILE
The ex-Kenya Air Force personnel even petitioned the Senate to have the government honour the court decisions, in vain.
And as recently as last month, High Court judge John Chigiti had issued an order for the arrest of Defence PS Dr Patrick Mwariru and be presented to court to explain why the government had failed to compensate them.
The last mention of the case was on July 14, 2025.
In June 2025, lawyer Rumba Kinuthia wrote to the Attorney-General Dorcas Oduor demanding settlement of Sh1.6 billion on behalf of Samuel Chege Gitau and 283 others.
Some of the cases are Gerald Juma Gichohi and nine others, who obtained a judgement against the government on May 29, 2015, Samuel Chege and 283 others who got a judgment in April 2016 and a subsequent appeal by the Attorney General was dismissed on November 24, 2023.
Others are David Gitau and nine others who got a judgment on November 1, 2013, Peter Tonny Wambua and others, judgment issued in July 2017, Dakan Gubow Hussein and 13 others, who obtained a judgment of November 16, 2016.
Ignored recommendation
The Senate, in a report of the Standing Committee on National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations, directed the government to compensate them within 60 days from December 13, 2019, when the report of the committee was approved by the plenary of the Senate.
In one of the cases heard in February this year, the ex-personnel argued that despite the directive of the Senate, none of the office bearers of the government have honoured the recommendation nor ever communicated to their advocates on their plight.
They told the court that the debt continues to attract interest. In the case by David Gitau and nine others, the amount had risen to Sh134 million from about Sh80 million in 2018.
Ex-sergeant David Gitau Njau. He is among the soldiers who were wrongfully dismissed from the military on suspicion of taking part in the failed 1982 coup.
In defence, the government had always argued that Parliament had not allocated the Ministry of Defence the monies to be paid to the former air force men.
Dr Muriru said that the satisfaction of decrees and judgment is deemed to be expenditure by Parliament and as a result it must be justified in law and provided for in government expenditure.
He argued that the Ministry of Defence has not received any allocation to settle the claims due to the current austerity measures taken by the government and that he can only be accountable for what the ministry is allocated.
And since there was no allocation from parliament to settle the outstanding claim, it would be manifestly unjust for the court to hold him in contempt of court when he did not control or the one who determines the government funding.
Other than contempt of court proceedings, the former airmen have written several demands and reminders to the Auditor-General and copied to the Department of Defence but without success.
They have also petitioned the office of the Ombudsman with no results.
Also waiting to be compensated and restoration of his honours is former Air Force Commander Peter Kariuki.
Besides the honours and benefits, Mr Kariuki is seeking compensation of Sh71 million, which the Court of Appeal ordered the government to pay him in 2014, after convincing a bench of three judges that he was subjected to glaring violations, when he was court-martialed in 1983.
At the time of the mutiny, Mr Kariuki said he was at his farm in Timau, a few Kilometers from Nanyuki.
But as soon as the mutiny by soldiers had been quelled, he was arrested and confined for some time at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison.
He was later transferred to Naivasha maximum security prison and held in solitary confinement for 147 days. And on January 10, 1983, he appeared before a court martial and was charged with the offences of failing to prevent a mutiny and failing to suppress a mutiny.
Mr Kariuki was convicted of the two offences and sentenced to four years in prison. The sentences to run concurrently. In addition, he was dismissed from the force and stripped of his rank, benefits, medals and decorations.
He served his full sentence, after the Commissioner of Prisons declared that he would not be considered for any remission of his sentence.
