SUMMARY

Military faction (forces of Hezekiah Ochuka) was a dissident faction of the Kenyan military, that mounted an unsuccessful coup attempt against the Government of Kenya in 1982. After seizing control of radio stations the rebels broadcasted their reasons for the coup attempt, accusing President Daniel arap Moi of corruption and mismanagement and that in “these circumstances our armed forces have heeded the peoples call to liberate the country”. The Military faction also announced that the Constitution had been suspended, a national liberation council set up, and all political prisoners declared free. The Military faction also claimed that it was “not the intention of the military to stay in power indefinitely”.

The Military faction emerged on 1 August 1982, and it was largely comprised of officers and soldiers from the Kenyan Air Force (KAF); the coup leader was Hezekiah Ochuka, a KAF private. Another important coup leader was Sergeant Pancras Oteyo Okumu. There were also allegations that elements from the Kenyan Army may have been involved – at least initially - in the attempted coup; however, this was never verified. The exact number of soldiers involved in the coup was unclear, but KAF had around 3000 troops at the time; it was not known whether the entire KAF participated in the fighting.

The Military faction’s coup attempt failed, and its forces were militarily defeated by Kenyan government within a few days. The coup leaders were arrested together with the entire rebellious KAF, and Ochuka himself was eventually sentenced to death by hanging.