Recruits undertake an exercise during the Kenya Defence Force recruitment held at the Busia Municipal stadium, Busia District. [PHOTO | Frankline Bwire | West Fm]

The Kenya Defence Forces recruitment of army officers in Busia District ended smoothly despite complaints from females over the low number of those signed to start military training.

The females expressed their dissatisfaction over the ratio of recruits, saying that males had been given a bigger slot compared to them in the whole district.

“We are not satisfied with the number of girls recruited to join the force. They should have balanced the number at least for motivation sake. Why should they take one girl among all who turned up for the exercise?” asked Mary Akoth.

Speaking to West FM at the Busia Municipal Stadium where the event was held, Akoth urged the government and recruitment teams to be gender sensitive by ensuring they respect the two thirds ratio in future to ensure fair competition between both genders.

Several recruits who were left out of the exercise due to their height and possession of certificates from foreign countries not forgetting the differences in names on the certificates said the exercise was conducted in a free and fair manner.

“Though I did not make it to the end, the recruitment was quite fair right from the beginning to the end. Now I know what to look out for when they advertise the recruitment process next time,” said Edwin Akide.

The Commanding Officer in charge of the recruitment exercise Lieutenant Colonel Isaiah Kangor said most of the participants had genuine certificates and requirements as was advertised in the dailies.

He added that the turnout was fairly good with approximately 600 men and women participating in the exercise.