Boni Khalwale Claims Kenyan Youths are asked to Pay KSh 400k to Join KDF

Kakamega senator Boni Khalwale has raised an alarm over alleged corruption in the ongoing Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) recruitment, saying opportunities are being sold instead of awarded on merit.

Speaking in the Senate on Wednesday, October 1, Khalwale claimed that aspiring recruits are being asked to pay between KSh 300,000 and KSh 400,000 to secure slots in the military. He described the practice as unfair and exploitative, particularly for ordinary families struggling to make ends meet.

What Allegations Did Khalwale Raise in the Senate?

The senator recounted how a resident from Kakamega approached him, desperate to sell his bull worth KSh 250,000 to raise the alleged bribe.

“I was truly waiting for the minister on the very important issue that opportunities for children to join the military are being sold for up to KSh 300,000 and KSh 400,000,” Khalwale said. “There’s an old man in Kakamega by the name of Maurice Matei. He owns a bull worth KSh 250,000. And he came to me and told me that, please, because I need KSh 400,000, just give me the KSh 400,000 my bull is worth KSh 250,000 then you’ll have helped me the difference. So I asked him, what is the problem? He said, I’ve been asked to go and buy a chance in the military.”

Khalwale insisted that recruitment should be based on merit rather than kickbacks and favouritism. He demanded that Defence Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya address the matter, regretting her absence from the Senate session.

Why Did Khalwale Question the Recruitment Process?

Beyond corruption claims, Khalwale criticized the Ministry of Defence for requiring applicants to register in their ancestral areas rather than where they currently live.

“Children from upcountry who have spent all their time here in Nairobi, for all they care, some of them don’t even speak their vernaculars. But their parents registered them in Bugoma, in Busia, to get ID cards. When they want to access recruitment here, they are told to go back to their homes,” he said. “And yet this child, the only thing that connects them to their so-called home is the ID. Why are these children being sent upcountry instead of being recruited from Nairobi, where they were born, bred, went to school, and became adults?”

Khalwale urged the Defence Ministry to clarify whether recruitment opportunities are genuinely being sold and to review policies that disadvantage young people living away from their ancestral counties.

By Modester Nasimiyu