Aineah Matui during the interview on September 9, 2024 at Nation Centre in Nairobi.
For over three decades, Aineah Kiyeni Matui, 53, a former military officer, has been shuttling from the quiet slopes of Kapsokwony in Mt Elgon, Bungoma, to the Department of Defence (DoD) headquarters in Nairobi.
It has been an elusive search for his missing file, No. 63173. He was discharged from the defunct Kenya Armed Forces — now the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) - in 1994.
"I started at the Recruits Training School (RTS) College in Eldoret in 1989," he recalls. "Later that year, I was transferred to Gilgil to join the 20 Parachute Battalion. I earned a monthly salary of Sh630, sending most of it to my wife and keeping just Sh200."
Through the office of strategic communications, the KDF acknowledges that Mr Kiyeni was discharged on April 5, 1994, but does not state the exact circumstances surrounding his dismissal. At the time of his discharge, he had served for four years and 63 days, they state.
Clutching his Certificate of Service, an Armed Forces Certificate of Education (Part Six), and a Parachute Basic Course certificate, Mr Kiyeni reflects on his abrupt dismissal. These documents are all that remain of his military career.
Mr Kiyeni claims his troubles began in 1994 when he left Gilgil for a sports camp in Kiganjo, Nyeri.
"I was an athlete, competing in long-distance races. In mid-April, I received a telegram that my son was critically ill. I got a three-day leave to tend to him. After extending my leave for two more days, I returned to find that I had been sent on a military operation in Lokichogio, Turkana," he recalls.
It was a mission to recover cattle stolen by bandits who had disappeared to South Sudan. The operation lasted six months, during which some of his comrades lost their lives. Those who survived returned to Gilgil in late 1994, he explains.
However, miscommunication between the military sports team and operations team caused a major misunderstanding, he says.
"When I returned, I learned that my commanding officer had marked me absent and forwarded my file to the DoD, believing I had deserted duty," says Mr Kiyeni.
Despite support from other senior officers who clarified his situation, Mr Kiyeni's career abruptly ended when his file was marked as missing.
“Other senior officers tried to argue my case, explaining that as a Private Officer 1, I had not acted against my duties,” he says.
Mr Kiyeni watched his military dreams crumble before his eyes.
“I cried as I saw my future disappear. I had only just begun my journey as a military officer.”
According to official communication from KDF’s office of strategic communications, Mr Kiyeni was ineligible for a pension, as he had only served for four years and 63 days.
Under the Defence Forces (Officers and Service Members) (Pensions and Gratuities) Regulations of 2021, members must serve at least 12 years to qualify for a pension. Further, KDF insists that Mr Kiyeni’s gratuity was properly processed and forwarded to the National Treasury for payment.
Mr Kiyeni is now asking President William Ruto to intervene what he terms as his ‘unwarranted dismissal’.
“Someone must have hidden my file. Reason I was dismissed without any reason. With my file missing, my dues or gratuity were not processed, leave alone pension. It is shocking to hear that my gratuity was processed and I have never received a single cent. How was it even processed with my file missing?” he posed.
He has further appealed to President Ruto to reinstate him back into service.
“Mr President, can you reverse my dismissal and reinstate me back to work. I am a victim of injustice. For over 30 years now I have shuttled to the DoD headquarters, and the RTS in Gilgil, and many other government offices seeking assistance on the matter. But since my file has been missing the issue has never been resolved.”
For three decades, Mr Kiyeni has lived in poverty, surviving by farming his one-acre plot. His children have excelled academically but face unpaid secondary school fees arears amounting to over Sh200,000.
His son has been accepted into Maasai Mara University, and his daughter has been admitted to Moi University. But without school fees they cannot report to university for their Bachelor of Education courses.
"My future was taken away when I was handed this green booklet (Certificate of Service). Now, my children’s future is at stake. Mr President, I have seen you come through for so many Kenyans. Kindly plead my case," Mr Kiyeni says while clutching his worn-out Bible.
