A total of 15 youths from Muthambi sub-county in Tharaka Nithi County were selected to join the National Youth Service (NYS) in a countrywide exercise that started on Monday 29th August 2022.
The recruits included 11 men, four women and one person with disability who were selected in the vigorous exercise conducted at Kaijiunduthi primary school.
Muthambi Assistant County Commissioner (ACC), Antony Gatonye said that the exercise ran smoothly however, he noted a low turnout due to confusion of the new sub- counties.
“There are those who think that we are still in Maara Sub- County and have not yet understood that the recruitment is done in the new sub-county, now we have our own recruitment exercise and Maara is holding theirs differently from us,” Gatonye said.
The ACC expressed that the new Muthambi sub-county will now have its own slots different from the sub-county that birthed it, hence increasing the number of slots in the county before the division.
He noted that the turnout of women was relatively low but congratulated those who showed up for the exercise. He urged parents to keep their children engaged to avoid falling into traps of drug abuse and early pregnancies.
On his part, Njuri Ncheke Muthambi chairperson Prof. Lawrence Mbae Mbijiwe who was also in the recruitment centre said the youths turned out in good numbers but most lacked the required documents for selection.
“Some are from Muthambi but their ID cards read that they are from different areas, some are from Chuka and even others Embu. We urge that our Chiefs, assistant chiefs and Nyumba Kumi educate the people on the requirements so as to avoid disqualification next time and also for them to know their recruitment stations,” Mbijiwe said.
Mbijiwe added that those youths who have been recruited into NYS will enjoy several benefits which include free training and allowances while those willing to further their education or join the security forces will have an added advantage. He went on to urge the youths to be responsible and avoid drug abuse.
Lawrence Bundi, one of the selected recruits said that it was his first trial for the recruitment exercise, adding that the process was conducted in a free and fair manner.
By Kelvin Miriti
