In Kenya, Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) recruitment is practically a national drama. You’ve seen the photos—thousands of young men and women in dusty stadiums, praying their teeth are white enough and their height hits the mark. For Mercy Koech, known to many as Masi, that dream ended at the tape measure. The recruiters in Londiani told her she was an inch too short.
But as the saying goes, when one door closes in Kericho, a much bigger one opens in Virginia.
The day a “supportive cousin” became a sailor
What’s wild is that Mercy wasn’t even there for herself. She recently sat down with Alex Mwakideu, and the story of how she ended up in a military line is pure “accident.”
“I was just accompanying my cousin,” she told a stunned Mwakideu. “I was like, ‘I can run, my grades are in check, I’m healthy, let me just try and see where they drop me off.’”
She was a beast on the track (800m and 4x400m), but KDF pulled her from the line because of her height. That rejection was the best thing that ever happened to her. Within months, her running didn’t just take her to the next town—it took her to the US on a scholarship worth Ksh 25 million a year.
The “Sandbox” and Memory Loss
Once she was in America studying nursing, she saw a path to citizenship through the Navy. But this wasn’t a desk job. Mercy ended up as a Hospital Corpsman serving with the US Marines. She wasn’t just in a clinic; she was in the “sandbox”—Afghanistan—for seven months.
She told Mwakideu that the intensity of war actually messes with your head. “I lost some memory… you forget the world for a moment. It’s like you’re in this room for 7 months… nothing new, no grass. Rocket attacks are normal.”
When Mwakideu asked if she was scared of dying, her answer was stone-cold: “I fear nothing, honestly. I don’t fear death… I only fear God.”
Manda Bay
The most legendary part of Mercy’s story happened in 2017. The US Navy sent her back home to train the KDF and the Kenya Navy in Manda Bay.
Think about that irony for a second. The girl who was “too short” to be a recruit was now a highly trained US specialist teaching Kenyan pilots and elite units how to stay alive in combat. She was back on home soil, speaking Swahili with “her people,” but wearing a different flag.
The Next Target: LA 2028
Mercy is now medically retired. Years of carrying 40kg of gear in 40°C heat took a toll—she’s had knee surgeries and battles chronic sciatica. But she isn’t done yet. She’s now an elite athlete in sports shooting (10m Air Rifle) with her eyes set on the 2028 Olympics.
She needs KES 10 million for gear (including a KES 250,000 suit!) and training. If you want to help this Londiani warrior hit the target in LA, you can support her through:
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Paybill: 303030
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Account: Q76D#
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IG: @youngbosskenya
As she told the young girls watching her story: “You should be your number one cheerleader. Once you’re at the top, everyone will come around.”