KDF rejects daredevil divers over poor grades

Several youths from Kerio Valley have been left disappointed in the ongoing Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) recruitment after failing to make the cut despite exhibiting daredevil skills.

Last year during the KDF recruitment, one of the Cheploch Gorge divers was recruited in the armed forces because of his diving skills, inspiring countless others in the Kerio Valley escarpment region.

However, during this year’s KDF recruitment at Kabarnet Showground the youth who turned up early in the morning to participate in the exercise were not lucky enough to qualify for the military posts due to poor grades in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination.

Senior Recruiting Officer (SRO) Lt Colonel Nzuki said the famous Cheploch divers were locked out because of the grades they had obtained in high school.

Lt Col Nzuki said the army had a minimum requirement of D (plain) which many of the skilled divers did not meet.

“Most of them had a D (minus) and that was the main challenge we had in selecting them,” said Nzuki, adding that they could have considered them if they had attained the minimum requirement.

Furthermore, he revealed the KDF recruiting officers passed by the diving site urging the young men to turn up for the exercise only realise many of them failed in the KCSE exam.

However, it is not all dull and gloom for the young divers since their skills have been in demand in emergencies across Baringo and neighbouring Elgeyo-Marakwet counties.

Recently, they travelled to Uasin Gishu County to help retrieve the body of a person who had drowned.