KDF salutes during a parade at the 45th edition of the Kenya Defence Forces track and field championship held in Nairobi, Ulinzi Sports Complex on June 14, 2025. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]
A separate internal communication, also seen by The Standard, reads: "Meal cash allowance: Be paid through DESACCO to deter personnel from committing on loans. Half of the allowance is to be locked to the KDF Booking Meal app, which can be released at the end of the month." To many soldiers, it feels like a paycheck turned into a prison. "Unfortunately, we are given directives and no room for argument. Some of us have loans," an officer told the Standard.
Since July 1, lunch money is deducted directly from salaries-regardless of whether a soldier eats or not-and meals must now be booked through the KDF Booking Meal app. "It's no longer a choice," said a junior officer in Eldoret. "They've decided to force-feed us through deductions. It's coercion, plain and simple."
Mess halls that once buzzed with conversation now stand half-empty. Some troops pack food from home. Others skip meals altogether, unwilling to be part of a system they say humiliates them.