Two suspects arrested for demanding Ksh.250K bribe during KDF recruitment

Two people were on Tuesday arrested in Malindi, Kilifi County, for soliciting and receiving a Ksh.250,000 bribe in the ongoing Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) recruitment exercise.

The suspects, Salim Mohamed Shekue and Fredrick Hamisi Baya, were nabbed by detectives from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).

The complainant told the commission that Shekue, who claimed to be deeply connected in KDF, solicited the said amount through his agent Baya on July 30, 2023.

The two reportedly pretended to have been in a position to facilitate the complainant’s admission to the force “without any hustle” of going through the rigorous recruitment process.

“The suspects allegedly told the complainant that they had ‘very deep connections’ at the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and duped him into giving them the demanded bribe,” a source at EACC stated.

“According to the complainant, he took a bank loan of Ksh.250,000 and gave the two suspects an initial amount of Ksh.200,000.”

The suspects reportedly demanded the balance claiming that only after full payment would they process the purported admission letter.

They were, at the time of their arrest in Magarini sub-county, receiving the remaining Ksh.50,000 from the complainant.

“On 28th August 2023, the suspects contacted the complainant and demanded the balance Ksh.50,000 to facilitate recruitment in the ongoing exercise failure to which his purported chance to join KDF would be lost,” added the source.

“It is then that the complainant reported the matter to the EACC Malindi office. EACC cautions members of the public against succumbing to such bribe demands.”