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Ruto allied MPs Hon Waluke and Didmus Barasa in trouble for impersonating senior military officers.

Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), have warned two Ruto allied Mps for impersonating senior military officers. The two lawmakers ie Hon Waluke and Hon Didmas Barasa have been going around both adding titles Major rtd and Captain rtd to their names.

Hon Waluke

The two vocal Mps have been linked to a myriad of cases with Waluke being out on bail pending the hearing and determination of his case where he is accused of obtaining over 297 million from the National Serials and Produce Board.

However, the EACC established that the titles are fake as the two lawmakers never attained the ranks during their brief service with the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).

A letter seen by www.goodmorningKenya.com read in part,
“The commission received information that you have been using the title of Major (rtd) in your official transactions and otherwise, yet you have never acquired and/or attained such a title while serving (in the KDF),” the letter to Mr Waluke reads in part.

Hon Didmas Barasa

A similar letter was sent to Mr Barasa. Both letters were copied to Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi, Clerk of the National Assembly Michael Sialai and Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Robert Kibochi.

On the other hand , a letter sent to Hon Barasa reads as below…
“It is, evident that you have never acquired the rank of Captain (rtd) and any such representation to the public and in official documents such as those filed at the Office of the Clerk of the National Assembly amounts to a breach of the integrity and ethical requirements laid out under Chapter Six of the Constitution and the Leadership and Integrity Act, 2012,” the letter to Mr Barasa quashing his captaincy reads.
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Did the two really serve in the military?
According to military records, Mr Waluke joined KDF on April 15, 1980 and left on May 21, 1994 after his request to be discharged on compassionate grounds was approved.

At the time of his retirement, he was in the rank of senior private, which is the second lowest rank in the military after private.

He was in the 76th Armoured Reconnaissance Battalion, which is based in Gilgil, as a tank loader and later as a driver at the defence headquarters.
On Parliament’s website and on several other forums, Mr Barasa has been referring to himself as ‘Captain’. His profile on Parliament’s website shows he joined the military in 2001 and left in 2007.

According to records at KDF, the Kimilili MP served for a year and 76 days in the KDF – from October 28, 2007 to February 26, 2009.

We have further established that Mr Barasa was dismissed from KDF on disciplinary grounds of absenteeism and gross misconduct, including forging a senior officer’s signature to obtain a loan. At the time of his dismissal, Mr Barasa was in the rank of ‘private’.

EACC CEO Mr Twalib Mbarak said the two MPs had been impersonating senior military officers by using titles that they did not earn.

“The two portray a very unfortunate case of state officers who are involved in impersonation, as they did not attain those ranks. The offence is criminal under the Penal Code,” said Mr Mbarak.

Geneva Centre for Africa Security and Strategic Studies executive director Simiyu Werunga said many people have been using military and police titles that they did not legally earn.

“Those are fakes. As officers who have served this country and are content with the ranks we attained, we hate it when we see impostors quoting big titles that they don’t have. That is impersonation,” said Dr Werunga.

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