Soldiers showcase skills as they mark KDF Day

Kenyans were on Sunday treated to a show of battle skills by the country’s soldiers during a colourful ceremony to mark the first KDF Day at 10 Engineers Battalion in Nanyuki.

The occasion was, at the same time, used to mark the first anniversary of Operation Linda Nchi, which sought to fight Al-Shabaab in Somalia.

Braving the constant rains, the soldiers, drawn from the 10 Engineers Battalion, went through a repertoire of hand-to-hand combat moves and defensive manoeuvres, culminating in a mock fight using bayonetted rifles and metal bars.

The only female soldier in the group demonstrating close combat moves, Senior Sergeant Zipporah Kemunto, proved she was as tough as any soldier sparring her partner to the ground repeatedly.

Mastery of weapons

She also proved she could take the hits when it came to her turn to be felled after staging a mock attack, with her male counterpart throwing her to the ground just as remorselessly as he would if it was a fellow man he sparred with.

The soldiers showcased their karate, boxing and judo skills before their commanders led by the Chief of Defence Forces, General Julius Karangi; the Army commander, Lieutenant-General Joseph Kasaon; and Defence minister Yusuf Haji.

They also displayed their mastery of weapons, giving a demonstration of how to disarm a knife-wielding combatant.

The soldiers went on to demonstrate how to knock out an opponent through high kicks, before picking their guns to show various ways in which a weapon can be used to immobilise a combatant without firing a single shot.