People from previously stateless communities and candidates without certificates of good conduct who turn up for the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) recruitment exercise that began on Monday morning will not be excluded from the exercise that ends on September 8.
Launching the exercise at the Defence Headquarters in Nairobi on Monday, August 28, Vice Chief of Defence Forces Lieutenant General Jonah Mwangi said members of the Pemba and Shona communities will go through the process like any other Kenyan provided they meet the set criteria.
"If you come and you are declared a Kenyan citizen, I don't think there will be any problem," said the VCDF, who was accompanied by Deputy Army Commander Major General David Tarus, Director of Medical Services Major General George Ngángá, Assistant Chief of Defence Forces in charge of Personnel and Logistics Major General David Keter and Chief Recruiting Officer Brigadier Mathew Lenamunai.
The exercise was advertised on 30 July to reach the maximum number of candidates and will take place over a two-week period between 8am and 5pm at 374 recruitment centres in the 47 counties.
The KDF is seeking to recruit Officer Cadets, recruits who include artisans and tradesmen, and KDF Constables, which will be drawn from ex-servicemen and ex-NYS personnel.
Candidates wishing to become special officer cadets and artisans have since submitted their applications through the Ministry of Defence's online portal, which closed on 20 August.
A shortlisting of applications in the two categories has begun and those selected will be notified through the print media between 17 and 24 September.
The Lt. General, however, emphasised that the shortlisting is only the first step in the recruitment criteria for the category, as physical verification of documents and medical examinations based on military benchmarks will be conducted thereafter.
Successful candidates will then be notified to collect their call letters ahead of their admission to the Kenya Military Academy in Lanet (special cadets) and the Recruits Training School in Eldoret (general duty recruits and tradesmen and women).
This year's recruitment is expected to attract huge numbers after a two-year gap in the exercise, as the last one was held in 2021.
"The recruitment of the various cadres into the KDF is necessitated by human resource and capacity gaps in the establishment and the need for continuous adaptation to the defence and security environment," said Lt Gen Mwangi.
He urged members of the public to avoid any person claiming to have influence to recruit potential candidates outside the designated centres or mechanisms.
"Members of the public are advised to desist from cheating as it goes against the values of the KDF, especially the value of integrity," he added.
According to him, since 2017, the KDF has recorded about 80 cases of fraud, many of which have since been investigated and about 56 have been closed through the KDF's internal processes.
On what the military will do differently to curb corruption, he said the oversight measures deployed include the use of intelligence officers, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission officers and the media.
"More importantly, we urge members of the public to volunteer information on any suspicious activities by reporting any suspicious activities on the ground to the recruitment teams or alternatively call 0726419709 or 0726419706," he said as he reminded potential candidates that joining the KDF is a calling.
"This number is left to the leadership to manage. No military will ever reveal it to you for security reasons," he said.
On the recruitment of persons with disabilities, he said the KDF was one of the organisations that had a very comprehensive system in place to cater for people with disabilities.
"Our experience in operations, right from the Shifta campaigns and more recently through what we are doing in terms of counter-terrorism operations, has taught us a lot and we have a very elaborate infrastructure so that everybody can contribute according to their ability. I think there is a place for everybody," he said.
