• Gatundu South MP, Gabriel Kagombe, has called for an urgent statement from the Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Defence, and Foreign Relations, Nelson Koech, regarding the government’s plan to compensate former Kenya Air Force officers who were unlawfully dismissed following the August 1982 attempted coup.

Gatundu South Member of Parliament (MP), Gabriel Kagombe, has called for an urgent statement from the Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Defence, and Foreign Relations, Nelson Koech, regarding the government’s plan to compensate former Kenya Air Force officers who were unlawfully dismissed following the August 1982 attempted coup.

Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly on Thursday, November 6, 2025, Kagombe noted that despite multiple court rulings and parliamentary interventions, the affected ex-servicemen remain unpaid more than four decades later.

The MP cited the case of David Gitau Njau, and 10 others, who sued the government in 2013 for unlawful dismissal on grounds of redundancy without being accorded a fair hearing. The dismissal led to the forfeiture of their pension, gratuity, and unpaid salaries, leaving many destitute.

In a series of landmark rulings, the Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC) found that the officers had been wrongfully terminated and subjected to torture and degrading treatment.

On October 3, 2025, the court ordered the government to pay the ex-servicemen Sh7.9 billion in compensation, inclusive of accrued interest and costs, arising from Milimani ELRC Cause No. 2212 of 2012 – Samuel Chege Gitau & 283 others v. Attorney General.

The judgment further directed that the soldiers’ pension benefits be reinstated as though they had served to retirement, emphasizing that the “82 Air Force” unit which dismissed them lacked legal authority.

Kagombe reminded Parliament that during the 12th Parliament, a petition on the matter had been referred to the Budget and Appropriations Committee, which was to allocate funds for the compensation.

However, despite these judicial and legislative efforts, the affected officers—now senior citizens without stable livelihoods—have yet to receive payment.

“Further delay in compensating these ex-officers only aggravates their deteriorating conditions of life,” Kagombe stated.

The legislator requested the committee chair to provide:

  1. A comprehensive report on the status of compensation for the ex-officers, including any steps taken by the Ministry of Defence to factor in funding for the 2025/2026 Financial Year.
  2. A clear timeline within which the ex-servicemen will be compensated as ordered by the court.

The push comes after Defence Principal Secretary Patrick Mariru admitted in court that the ministry was grappling with outstanding decrees exceeding Sh10 billion, adding that no budgetary allocation had been made to settle the claims.

The court, however, dismissed financial constraints as a valid excuse for disobeying judicial orders.

If implemented, the compensation would bring closure to one of Kenya’s longest-running military justice cases, dating back to the aftermath of the 1982 coup attempt against President Daniel arap Moi’s government.

While responding to the request by Kagombe, the Chair of the committee promised to give a satisfactory response within two weeks.

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