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Being a healthy man meant joining army by force

Army personnel during the preparations for the public viewing of former President Mwai Kibaki's body at Parliament building. [Denish Ochieng, Standard]

There was a time it was a crime to be able-bodied and fit in Kenya. If one had a muscular frame, they were best advised to flee from their homes and live in caves. In some instances, men desperately tried to get fat or feign illnesses to avoid being conscripted into the army.

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