The life and times of departed KDF chaplain Lt.Col (Father) George Makau

Lt.Col (Father) George Makau conducts the mass at the battlefront in Somalia. [File, Standard]

Under the codename Operation Linda Nchi, The Kenya Defence Forces infantry and amphibious units rolled into Somalia on October 16, 2011, to contain Al Shabaab incursions and have been there since.

Dodged bombs

The hyenas soaked up the blast from the landmines but Lt.Col (Father) Makau would later be shot in the line of duty. He was airlifted to the KDF Memorial Hospital where recovered from the war wounds after which he continued with his duties.

Before his demise Lt.Col (Father) Makau would frequently refer to incidents from the war front in his sermons to motivate soldiers and their families in the barracks. His sermons provided first-hand accounts of a soldier's life.

Lt.Col (Father) Makau was in the first contingent that made history for crossing over into Somalia to eliminate the Al-Shabaab terror group that was riding roughshod in Somalia from where it would stage terror attacks in Kenya. Their incursions included killings and kidnappings of tourists from in Lamu.

The terror group was linked to several attacks on border towns, grenade attacks and kidnappings prompting then-President Kibaki to declare war.

Lt.Col (Father) Makau's role in the war was unique and less talked about. He provided moral support and spiritual guidance to soldiers who profess the Catholic faith.

"It is common for a soldier to be under stress at the war front. I was their father and counsellor," he told The Standard.

Lt.Col (Father) Makau (left) and embedded journalist in a troop carrier in Somalia. [File, Standard]

"It (the explosive) was right on the path we were to use."

Lt.Col (Father) denied stories that the KDF tortured or involved itself the in the mistreatment of Somalis; even pointing out that the Somalia National Army (SNA) had a policy of assimilating the prisoners of war.

"If there was any torture, it must have been by the SNA... captured militants were taken in to join the Somalia army that we were fighting alongside." It was easy to assimilate the militants into the SNA because most had been disoriented over promises of salaries from their commanders that were never forthcoming," he said.

Wonders back

Back in Somalia, KDF Muslim soldiers and members of the Somalia National Army would hold their five prayers jointly, under the cover of their Catholic and Protestant colleagues.

But his mind often wandered back to those tense and dangerous days on the battlefront in Somalia and the role that the KDF has played in the liberation of the war-torn country from militants.