Women hoping to join the Kenya Defence Forces in Lamu were disappointed once again after they were excluded from the recruitment exercise held on 19 November 2018 at Kibaki grounds on Lamu Island.
Lt. Colonel Paul Aruasa said the forces already had enough female recruits at the time, and told applicants not to lose hope because future recruitment rounds could open up opportunities. Last year’s exercise had also left out women on similar grounds.
“Unfortunately this year we are not taking any ladies from Lamu. We know it’s a disappointment. But I know things will change in future,” Aruasa said.
The decision frustrated several applicants, including Loice Kazungu, 23, who said this was the third time she had been turned away. She said she had taken part in the exercise every year for the past three years and believed she had met the required standards, including a C plain in KCSE, weight, height and general body well-being.
“This is my third time and I am so frustrated. I have run on this pitch every single year for the last three year. I scored C plain in KCSE and I meat all required standards of weight, height and general body well being. Every time they tell me they are not taking women, I just don’t understand why,” Kazungu said.
Susan Wangoi, 35, who is also a National Youth Service graduate, said she had tried four times without making the cut. She questioned why women were not being absorbed and said applicants should be told in advance if they will not be considered.
“Instead of waiting until the recruitment day to tell us that we are not needed, they should make it clear from the word go so that we don’t even waste our time coming or hoping in the first place but this is just unfair. Does it mean the forces only need men or is it that people think women in the forces are a liability?,” she posed.
At least 200 young men and women turned up for the recruitment, but many were rejected over discoloured teeth, tattoos, poor KCSE grades and underweight body measurements.
Aruasa said some otherwise qualified candidates were dropped because of discoloured teeth and tattoos. He said the tooth discoloration was linked to miraa chewing, which he described as common among young people in the region.
He urged aspiring recruits to “keep their bodies pure and natural,” saying they should avoid body alterations such as tattoos and anything that changes the colour of their teeth or visible body parts.
“By this I mean, don’t alter your body in any way like tatoing yourself. Dont consume anything that changes the color of your teeth of any part of your visible body for that matter. Keep fit and ensure you score yourself some nice grades otherwise, you will never be able to join us. I have learnt that unfortunately many of our good recruits have discoloured teeth and have to be dropped,” Aruasa said.
He added that many applicants failed to meet the required weight of 54.5 kilograms for men and 50.0 kilograms for women. He also said the minimum academic requirement was a KCSE aggregate grade of D plain, and that candidates with D- and below could not be taken.
“Many are underweight, some are just too skinny and it just doesn’t work for them.We also have cases of too many recruits who have scored below D plain and by this I mean D- and below.We surely cant help such unfortunately,” he said.
