A storm is brewing over the planned military and police recruitment, with senators raising allegations of bribery, slot sales and discrimination ahead of the exercise later this month.
Senators have criticised the planned recruitment process, claiming that it is rigged already to favour certain areas and that slots are being sold to the highest bidders.
Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale shocked the Senate when he said that a man from his county had approached him, offering to sell his family's bull so that he could raise the money he had been asked to pay to ensure his son's recruitment into the military.
The Senate Majority Whip said the man had asked him to buy the bull, worth Sh250,000, so that he could raise the Sh400,000 he had been asked to pay as a bribe to ensure his son became one of the Kenya Defence Forces' (KDF) lucky recruits.
“One Maurice Mate came to me saying he needs Sh400,000 because he has been asked to buy a chance in the military. He came with the only bull he has so that I can buy it for him to raise the money,” said Mr Khalwale.
Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group
“This is not an isolated case. Opportunities for children to join the military are being sold. Many Kenyans are being asked for money to be recruited. The bribe goes for at least Sh300,000,” he added.
KDF recruitment of servicemen and women, and constables has, over the years, attracted public outcry over discrimination, unfair hiring practices, and corruption, with some claiming bribery and favouritism.
The 2023 recruitment, for instance, was marred with allegations of regional favouritism, with allegations that a huge percentage of the recruits were from only two dominant ethnic groups who had just come into power a year before.
The latest development comes at a time when both the KDF and the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) have warned against bribery and corruption during their respective exercises.
The KDF seeks to recruit general service officer cadets, specialist officers, general duty recruits, tradesmen and women and constables starting October 13, 2025 to October 25, 2025.
In the advertisement, KDF said the recruitment drive is free and open to all eligible and qualified candidates, warning that engaging in bribery or any other form of corruption with the intent to influence the recruitment process is a criminal offence.
“Any individual found to be involved in recruitment-related malpractice will be arrested and prosecuted. The Public is urged to report any incidents of recruitment malpractice to the nearest Police Station or Military Camp,” stated the advert.
The Senate was to host Defence Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya to respond to the allegations, but she didn’t honour the Wednesday summons to appear, saying she had a security meeting to attend to.
“We wanted the minister to come and clarify whether chances in the military are up for sale or if it is on merit. And if it is on merit, what is that merit?” said Senator Khalwale.
Defence Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group
The allegations have also roped in the planned recruitment of police officers by the NPSC, set to begin on Friday.
This comes even after the Commission also warned that corruption attempts, such as bribery, would not be tolerated and stern action will be taken against such individuals.
NPSC seeks to recruit 10,000 police officers with 4,000 reserved for National Youth Service graduates. The exercise is set to run between October 3 and 9, 2025.
The Commission additionally warned individuals who provide the Commission with false or misleading information would be committing an offence and could face a fine of up to Sh200,000 or imprisonment for up to two years.
To promote transparency and curb corruption, the NPSC said the exercise will be conducted entirely online, with applicants required to submit their details virtually.
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna accused CS Tuya of not responding to grievances by Nairobi leaders over the scheduled recruitment despite the leaders writing a letter to her on September 15, 2025.
“We feel we are being discriminated against as we only have three centres for recruitment against 17 constituencies we have whereas in other areas it is happening at the sub-counties,” said Mr Sifuna.
Nairobi County Senator Edwin Sifuna during an interview in his office.
Photo credit: Billy Ogada | Nation Media Group
“Considering that the biggest youth bulge and unemployment is in Nairobi, when recruitment opportunities in the Defence Forces arise, we feel our youth should be given a fair chance, considering Nairobi’s population,” he added.
Appearing before the Senate in March this year, CS Tuya announced her ministry was working on a watertight military recruitment system after admitting to having a porous enlistment process with loopholes that fraudsters exploit to con desperate Kenyans.
She confessed to the existence of Kenyans masquerading as military Generals with full uniform and ranks, taking advantage of Kenyans during military recruitments.
The minister cited a case sometime last year where there was a fully-fledged notification of recruitment with all the logos of the KDF and the Ministry published yet they had no recruitment going on.
To cure the problem, she said the Defence Council, which she chairs, is currently working on a watertight system of recruitment that is aimed at eliminating the existing loopholes used by fraudsters.
She said the system will ensure a tamperproof process for recruiting the uniformed officers and once concluded, the standard process will be made public as the government strives to check recurrent allegations of malpractices and favouritism during the recruitment of KDF officers.
“There are known challenges that we need to address concerning recruitment. We are working round the clock and I will soon give details on measures we are taking to seal the loopholes that exist with our recruitment processes,” said CS Tuya.
At the time, Tharaka Nithi Senator Mwenda Gataya had decried how fraudsters are fleecing desperate Kenyans of their money with the false promise of helping them have their children enlisted in the military.
Senator Gataya narrated how some parents have gone to the extent of even disposing of their properties to get money so that their sons and daughters get recruited to the military only to end with disappointments.
