A Kilifi man has died after collapsing at the Kenya Defence Force recruitment on Tuesday.
Harrison Karisa, 25, died at the Kilifi County Hospital intensive care unit on Wednesday evening.
Karisa had no known medical issues, according to a relative, Elias Uhuru.
“He left home on Tuesday and went for the recruitment at Karisa Maitha grounds in Kilifi town. He went through all the procedures and they were subjected to running. While on his way back from running, he fainted some few metres to the recruitment field. He was carried on a military vehicle to the tents at the centre and they gave him first aid but he did not respond, which prompted them to take him to hospital,” Uhuru said.
Karisa’s condition kept deteriorating and he was admitted to the ICU late Tuesday.
“He was among the runners who were leading. I was shocked when he collapsed. He was optimistic he would get the job,” Uhuru said added
The family said no autopsy will be conducted to ascertain the cause of death.
Meanwhile, tens of youths in Naivasha have better chances of joining the military after the Kenya Defence Forces dropped teeth discoloration as a barrier to recruitment.
For years, youths from Naivasha were turned away by recruiters due to their discolored teeth occasioned by high concentrations of fluoride in major water sources in the area.
However, according to Lt Col Pius Leshan, the officer in charge of the recruitment, all the youths who met all the physical, mental, age, and academic requirements will be considered to join the service.
Leshan said no recruit was turned away because of their teeth discoloration but a section of them were disqualified due to missing teeth or decayed cavities.
Other disqualifications included mismatch in identity names, lack of original certificates, age, height, and physical anomalies.
Lt Col Leshan said the service had tightened their noose on corruption loopholes such as bribery, noting that all those who turned up for consideration into cadets and service units would be subjected to scrutiny and verification to ensure fairness.
“KDF conducts a thorough security and identity check on all the recruits to tame infiltration into the service of indoctrinated officers with ill intentions for the country,” Leshan said.
He said the qualified recruits, who turned up at the Kihoto grounds and who will be absorbed into the military, will back up the existing service members with peace-related initiatives within the country and across the continent.
The recruits will play a major role in afforestation missions being undertaken by the military to accelerate the country’s target of planting 15 billion trees towards attaining tree and forest cover targets to mitigate the effects of climate change.
The officer urged those disqualified for minor reasons such as incorrect documentation to comply with all the requirements before the next recruitment exercise next year.
The KDF annual recruitment drive is seeking to enlist general service officer, cadets (both regular and graduate degree holders), specialist officers, general duty recruits, tradesmen and women, and defense forces constables.
