What It Takes To Join KDF And Why The Kenyan Military Don’t Recruit Short People And Those With Tattoos

Vice Chief of Defence Forces Lieutenant General Jonah Mwangi has disclosed why short people are not recruited into the military as height is an important element during the hiring process.

“Short are great people, but there are criteria that are set. For you as a woman to join you have to be 5 ft and above, and for a man you have to be 5ft 3in. The reason is that if you come in shorter than 5ft, there is a possibility you might not attain the required weight. If have more weight than what you ought to have, through training, you might shrink.,” he said.

He said for someone to be allowed to join the disciplined forces, a woman should be 5 feet and above while a man should be five feet and three inches and above.

“The danger is that the weapons that we use are 4ft. You can imagine standing on parade, you are going to fight, and the weapons are roller than you,” he added.

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On why KDF don’t allow potential recruits wuth discolored teeth he said, “We realized that there are areas in this country where you have water that has fluoride content and therefore you will have people that have low to medium teeth discolouration. If you have severe discolouration, it’s an indication that you probably have a problem with the bone structure and you are prone to accidents. If you get into a dental accident, that will force us to out in you in hospital instead of training. It’s a disadvantage to you.”

No Tattoos

“Character counts in recruitment in the sense that if you are not a person of character, if you have criminal records, then that is a no-go. Character is one thing that the defence forces or a security person cannot afford not to have. Recruitment policy says that you are not supposed to join with a tattoo. You are not going to be recruited if you are wearing a tattoo.” Said the Lt Gen Jonah Mwangi.

As for educational requirements, “If you are joining as a cadet, you need to have B+ average grade and in Math, you need to have a C+ and above, that also goes to English and one science subject. For a general service recruit, you need to have a D. If you are coming as a general artisan, you need a D+ and above. If you have a degree, you enter as a cadet and at the commissioning, you are commissioned as a second lieutenant.” He said.

As to what the general requirements they’re looking for during recruitment, Lt Gen Jonah Mwangi says, “In a recruit, we look for 3 things: you’ve got to have the correct physical standards, medically you need to be fit and you’ve got to have the right papers. For you to join the KDF, you have got to believe in it. If you have to pave your way into it, then definitely you’ll be of no use.”