A pastor from Ongata Rongai, Kajiado, is in custody over forged KDF letters.
Pastor Joseph Onyancha of the Revelation Worship Centre had attempted to enroll his 13 relatives into the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).
However, this landed him in police custody after officers at the KDF Recruits Training School (RTS) in Moi Baracks, Eldoret busted his relatives with forged recruitment letters.
Onyancha had been conned Ksh3.5 million, which he had parted with as a bribe.
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KDF soldiers at a Barrack in Kenya. |Photo| Courtesy|
The pastor is among the 55 people arrested by the military police last week after they launched a crackdown to dismantle a cartel issuing fake recruitment letters.
"I couldn't resist it, the calling letters according to my link person originated from the Ministry of Defence," Pastor Onyancha stated.
He was arrested shortly after arriving at RTS with the 13 recruits.
Onyancha revealed that his neighbour introduced him to Susan, who sells clothes at Nairobi's Githurai Market. She allegedly has connections at the KDF and would get the 13 relatives recruited through the back door.
This meant they did not have to go through the rigorous fitness tests.
"The link person was my trusted neighbour who assured me that all was well and that all that was required was a facilitation fee.
Three of the recruits' families parted with Ksh270,000 each, two others ksh400,000 each, and the other eight, Ksh300,000 each.
The total Ksh3.5 million was then handed over to Susan, who then issued them with recruitment papers.
"As a lay person I would not tell if the papers were fake. I was sure the youth would join the military without any problem," Onyancha stated.
"I am remorseful for allowing the enemy of corruption to lure me into trouble. I thought I was helping my relatives to get employment in the military but 14 of us are now facing possible jail terms even after parting with millions," he added.
