The suspects had joined other military recruits hoping to make their way into the training school unaware that the letters they were holding were not genuine/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 1- More than 57 youths will be charged in Eldoret Tuesday morning after presenting fake letters of appointment to join the military.
The suspects had joined other military recruits hoping to make their way into the training school unaware that the letters they were holding were not genuine.
Upon interrogation, it was discovered that they had purchased fake appointments letters between 250,000 and 350,000 shillings.
The military had warned Kenyans interested to join the military against engaging in corrupt activities by falling prey to conmen who were selling fake letters of appointment.
Eldoret West Director of Criminal Investigations (DCIO) Ali Samatar said they are working with the military to identify the cartel behind the racket which is believed to also involve military officials.
“The group comprises men and women from across the country and it was detected that their calling letters had anomalies and had not been genuinely issued by the State Department for Defence. We are liaising with the military officers to establish the source of their letters,” the Eldoret West CID boss said.
In this case, if the 57 suspects purchased the appointment letters at a cost of Sh350,000, it means the cartels made away with about Sh19.9 million.
Preliminary investigations have established that parents and brokers who masquerade as senior military and police officials were involved in the scam.
“We are taking strategic measures to ensure everybody in the racket faces the law,” he said.
Some of those arrested had gone through the normal recruitment exercise, but missed out on the final list according to police.
“I am pleased to inform you that you have been successful in the interview and you have been recruited to the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) as a recruit. You are, therefore, required to report at the Recruits Training School in Eldoret, 23km from Eldoret town on the Eldoret-Kitale Road on Sunday 30, not later than 0800 hours for the final examination…,” read part of the fake letter.
Such cases are always rampant during the recruitment exercise, as a section of Kenyans desperately seek to join the security forces.
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