Vice Chief of Defence Forces Lieutenant General Jonah Mwangi revealed why some restrictions, such as poor oral health, height and tattoos, spark controversy among many Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) applicants.
He emphasized that, while the military is lenient in dealing with oral structures and health, to some extent damage, one cannot be accepted because the forces demand physical and medical fitness.
Mwangi stated that due to geographical considerations, recruitment officers may overlook medium to low discoloration of teeth, but if the discoloration is severe, the candidate is excluded.
He explained that permitting someone who does not satisfy the oral criteria risks a future dental accident, which could require a student to be hospitalized rather than participate in training.
“In a recruit, we look for 3 things: you’ve got to have the correct physical standards, medically you need to be fit and you’ve got to have the right papers. We realized that there are areas in this country where you have water that has fluoride content and therefore you will have people that have low to medium teeth discolouration and those that are severe
“From low to medium, that can be looked at by the medic. If you have severe discolouration, it’s an indication that you probably have a problem with the bone structure and you are prone to dental accidents. If you get into a dental accident, that will force us to out in you in the hospital instead of training, so it’s a disadvantage to you,” he said.
Similarly, Mwangi stated that candidates with tattoos and certain levels of birthmarks are not permitted.
He did not describe the medical grounds for banning tattooed candidates, but he did say that huge birthmarks indicate a level of fragility in the skin, which might lead to damage while exercising.
“Tattoos have been an issue but I will relate it more to policy; the army recruitment says that you are not supposed to join with a tattoo and when that policy was promulgated was because of what happens in that space but let us leave it at policy
“A birthmark could be an indicator of a weakness in the skin structure; on your shoulders, for example, if you have certain birthmarks and they get into contact with the weight, then it can cause an injury which would put you off training,” he explained.
Mwangi further clarified that women who apply as recruits should be at least 5 feet above, while men should be at least 5 feet and 3 inches.
“Short people are great but there’s criteria that is set and is not only applicable to the KDF, it is everywhere. The personal weapons that we have are over four feet, you can imagine going to fight and the weapon is taller than you so that’s a big challenge,” he explained.
Mwangi noted that people who join the KDF with a lower height than expected are more likely to fail the test of achieving the required weight of 50 kg.
“If you are less than 50kgs during training, we require you to carry a weight between 18 and 25 kilos so that will be half or three-quarters of your weight. As you go towards the end of the training, you are required to carry heavier loads,” he said.
