This archive report was first published on 17 September 2019.
Second Lieutenant John Njoroge, 30, joined the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) after graduating with a military science degree and commissioning as an officer at the Kenya Military Academy, Lanet in 2014.
According to his mother, Joyce Wangari, Njoroge, who scored an A- in his Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination, brought a ray of hope to the family after he joined the military.
However, after being deployed to Somalia between December 2016 and January 2018 under the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM), Njoroge was involved in the January 27, 2017 attack at Kulbiyow camp that left at least 68 of his colleagues dead and scores injured.
For More of This and Other Stories, Grab Your Copy of the Standard Newspaper.
The family noticed a change in Njoroge's behavior after his return from the deployment, with his father, Peter Mwangi, stating, 'He was well until after that attack. When he came back home from the deployment, we started noticing change in behaviour. He would fight with anyone including myself and later apologise.'
After his return from the Somalia assignment, Njoroge was attached to the 20th Parachute Battalion based at Kenyatta Barracks in Gilgil.
However, in October 2018, Njoroge went home and informed his family that he had been given a three-month leave and would report back to work in January 2019.
It was then that the family realised that their son had changed, with his father stating, 'When he arrived home he was calm. The next morning, he broke 12 glass windows of a house he built for us. He threatened to kill his wife with whom he had one child. His wife left with the child.'
The family reported the matter at Njoro Police Station where he was referred to the Military Police who picked Njoroge and took him back to Kenyatta barracks.
However, the family was wrong in thinking that Njoroge had recovered, as months later, a friend spotted Njoroge wandering on Nairobi's streets looking confused and lost.
He was wearing one shoe and was taken back to Gilgil barracks, where he was promised to be taken care of.
However, all was not well, as Njoroge continued to worsen, stabbing his brother twice in the abdomen nearly killing him in March this year.
The family then reported the matter to the military in a letter dated March 30, stating that their son had become a danger to them and to himself.
When reached for comment, the Department of Defence (DoD) said that Njoroge's contract with the military was terminated before his condition worsened.
However, Njoroge's parents disputed this, stating that they were not aware that their son had been fired and that the military should have informed them.
