This link circulated on WhatsApp is allegedly advertising recruitment by the Kenya Defense Forces(KDF). The link redirects to a page where one is supposed to fill in their details. Afterward, one is supposed to share the link with 15 friends or five WhatsApp groups to boost their chances of getting recruited.
Background
Over the years, scams have plagued the annual Kenya Defense Forces recruitment exercise. They range from fake links, candidates presenting fake documents and people soliciting bribes to ensure applications are approved. Arrests have been made before, but every new recruitment cycle has its crop of scammers seeking to reap where they did not sow. During the current campaign, the KDF has made it difficult for scammers by making this information available to the public. The scammers are now taking a different approach, discouraging all those who will participate in the physical drills without bribing officials.
Verification
The Kenya Defense Forces, through their official social media handle, notified interested candidates of where to find information on the vacancies and the eligibility criteria. All the information is available on the Kenya Defence Force’s official website. They also flagged the link on the post as fake on X.
In an interview with Citizen TV, Lieutenant General Jonah Mwangi listed the general and academic requirements that candidates must meet.
To protect members of the public, the Ministry of Defense sent text messages warning against fraudsters during the August-September 2023 recruitment.
A WhoIs search on the official KDF website further reveals its IP location in Nairobi, Kenya while a WhoIs search on the website linked to the fake advertisement shows it is hosted in New York.
Verdict
The link supposedly advertising recruitment at the KDF is FAKE.
This fact check was published by Piga Firimbi with support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck and African Fact-Checking Alliance.
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