Winnie Adipo’s dream was almost cut short after efforts to join the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) were futile. Adipo, who was turned away four times, now serves in the US Air Force.
In an interview published by the Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, US, where she is currently based, Adipo revealed she was rejected at the KDF due to the widespread nepotism within the institution.
According to her, unemployment was high in the country, and military recruiters offered positions to their kin or individuals willing to pay a hefty bribe.
She was asked to pay a bribe of Sh200,000, but she could not raise the amount as she came from a humble background.
“The recruiter told me, ‘Give me 200,000 shillings, and I’ll fix you in.’ I just didn’t have that sort of pocket money, and just like that, my dream was gone,” she recalled.
Adipo, however, couldn’t let her passion for military service go, and she had to look for opportunities elsewhere. Her dreams began to be realized in 2015 when she got an email, mistakenly delivered as spam, to her account saying she was selected for the Diversity Visa Program (DVP).
The DVP is a U.S. State Department sponsored initiative which grants up to 50,000 immigrant visas annually to potential migrants from countries of low immigration rates to the United States.
She later began her journey to Tacoma, Washington,where she spent two months fetching all the necessary documents to begin employment.
Later while in transit to the social security card offices, she started a conversation with her driver, whom she informed that her dream was to join the military.
The driver encouraged her to look into enlisting in the U.S. military and gave her a U.S. Air Force recruiter’s number.
“It was so simple I couldn’t believe it. No one was trying to take my money,” she gushed over how hassle-free her recruitment had been.
She joined as a health service management specialist in the medical wing of the force before being elevated to the position of staff sergeant.
KDF Recruitment
The recruitment requirements for KDF officers include the following;
- Be a Kenyan citizen with no dual citizenship.
- Be in possession of a valid Kenyan National Identity Card and PIN certificate.
- Age – Between 18 and 26 years old for GSO Cadets and General Duty Recruits, and not above 30 years of age for Specialist Officers and Tradesmen/women.
- Be physically and medically fit in accordance with the KDF standards.
- Have no criminal record.
- Minimum Height: Men 1.60m (5ft 3in), Women 1.52m (5ft).
- Minimum Weight: Men 54.55 Kg (120 lb), Women 50.00 Kg (110 lb).
- Female candidates must NOT be pregnant at the time of recruitment and during the entire duration of training.
While many people intending to join KDF meet all these requirements, some miss opportunities due to the bribery claims in the institution.
Sources have it that senior military men demand Sh200,000 and Sh400,000 worth of bribes to dish out cadet positions. Some officers were put on the spot for allegedly aiding corruption during the 2021 KDF recruitment.
The claims were, however, dismissed by the then Defence Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma, who argued that bribery allegations were being peddled by individuals who missed the opportunities.