Lootenants’ robbed army’s pride and watered down lieutenancy

BY FERDINAND MWONGELA

So a couple of Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldiers have been sacked and jailed over stealing goods during the Westgate siege. But previously KDF chiefs had claimed there was no looting. Stealing must be a lesser evil then, who would want to be caught looting when they can steal?

After wrestling with these two words for a while I decided to seek out the dictionary. One whispered that loot (noun) is “goods, especially personal property, taken from an enemy in war.”

 So whatever soldiers ‘allegedly’ took was from Kenyans and shops owned by people who would not qualify as enemies can not qualify as loot.

Very convenient until you look at what loot (verb) is. Which is stealing goods during war, riot etc.  I can see why the KDF would not consider this as looting either. There was no war or riots, just a few terrorists who may or may not have scurried away some time during the siege.

So we will go with stealing, which the good old dictionary say is taking another person’s property without permission or legal right and with no intention of returning it.

Mind-boggling

Then, again, the thesaurus gives ‘steal’ and ‘loot’ as synonyms, tough language this is.

The dilemma that the top brass must have been in with these two words, especially if their tools of reference are as old as mine, must have been mind-boggling.

Unless, of course, if they had permission, which it has been said they had, for water. The difference between water, mobile phones and cameras and beers must have been more than a little hazy.

It would be interesting to hear what crimes the sacked soldiers were charged with, although it would probably be couched in some jargon.

A while back, and every now and then when the KDF advertises recruitment drives, I am usually tempted to join the queue. In fact, I applied quite a few times, before age and less-than-perfect teeth convinced me otherwise.

But as a kid, I would never miss national celebrations, not for the speech, but for the march past. Once that was done, my interest in the celebrations ended.

And I took off in pursuit of other interests, like paying a shilling to ride a bicycle round some dusty track.  

Could this have been a sample of what goes on whenever our army is carrying out operations? I pray not. I’m, however, reminded of what my former headmaster would say about a few bad apples.

The soldiers in gleaming boots and menacing guns are heroes to many Kenyans.

The few should not be allowed to wreck an institution many boys grow up dreaming to be a part of.