Two planes carrying soldiers who were wounded in Somalia following a terrorist attack touched ground at the Wilson airport at midday Sunday.
The four soldiers who were critically injured when Al Shabaab militants launched a suicide and gun attack at their military base in Somalia were transported from Wajir where they were initially receiving treatment.
Since they had sustained serious injuries, the soldiers were brought to Nairobi to receive specialised treatment at the military's memorial hospital in Nairobi.
When they arrived, emotions hang heavy as Chief of Defence Forces General Samson Mwathethe and Defence Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo reached for the aircraft's door and momentarily stood face-to-face with the soldiers who had bruises and plasters all over their bodies.
As the injured were wheeled into the ambulances that stood waiting for them to disembark from the planes, the look on their faces, and the occasional grimaces told of the pain they must have gone through when their base was ambushed.
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"Kenya Defence Forces will continue to tackle the enemy. We are not defeated," said Ms Omamo when she addressed the media on the state of the military after the attack.
Omamo and Mwathethe reached out for the wounded and helped those who could walk to the ambulances by giving them a shoulder to lean on as they made their way towards the paramedics.
With one painful limp after another, the soldiers embodied the struggles they go through when protecting the country in regions that are constantly under ruins.
Mwathethe described both the fallen soldiers and the injured as 'brave'. He commended them for upholding the values of protecting the country and its borders against attacks from enemies.
"We assure everyone that the blood of the fallen soldiers was not shed in vain. We will smoke the enemies out in honour of every drop that was shed during the battle," he said.
Mwathethe noted there were families who were anxious over the fate of their loved ones, saying they would be informed in due course.
He said they were still on a mission to search, rescue and recover all soldiers before they could give the exact number of those killed in the brutal attack.
Omamo called for respect of the bereaved families, saying the Government will make personal calls to them and inform them of the fate of their loved ones.
