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On a normal day, Isaiah Ochanda would be training his colleagues in martial arts, Judo and Taekwondo at the Embakasi Barracks in Nairobi

He had been doing that since he joined the Kenya Airforce in 1983 until one fateful day, May 5, 1987, when he broke his spinal cord during one of the sessions.

He was training the Kenyan team to participate in the All Africa Games that were to be staged at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, later in the year.

Ochanda, then Department of Defence (DoD) employee was rushed to Armed Forces Memorial Hospital in a comma and seven days later, medics confirmed his worst fears, his spinal cord was broken, paralysing him from the neck to toes.

Ochanda, 63, would remain hospitalised until 1989, when he was discharged but has since remained bed-ridden to date.

Unknown to him, his then employer would frustrate his disability pension despite his medical condition coupled with the vagaries of life.

While nursing injuries at home, Ochanda received the most shocking news, that DoD had discharged him of his duties on medical grounds, a decision he took with pain and frustration.

“I received a discharge instruction letter in January 1995 at night from a child of my neighbour, informing me that my services were no longer required. I would then follow up with my Commanding Officer, who informed me that I was to proceed on leave immediately pending my retirement date,” said Ochanda.

A day before his retirement, Ochanda went back to collect his dues but was informed that they would only provide him with a return ticket back to his Uriri village in Migori while they processed subsequent dues which he has been chasing to date.

After four months, he sent his immediate family members to the Hurlingam-based DoD headquarters and to his dismay, they were sent back with a brief that he did not have any file opened for his dues and that there was no record that existed.

“They told my family that there were no records and that I should personally visit the headquarters despite my bed-ridden situation,” a pensive Ochanda narrated.

And for seven months, Ochanda struggled to get medical discharge benefits as per the law and a further one month left to seek benefits and terminal dues.

Stung by frustrations from DoD, Ochanda moved to the High Court in 1996 and filed a case seeking to compel the former employer to pay him his terminal dues.

He exhausted all the legal processes and the court ruled in his favour, awarding him Sh22.9 million in decree and certified costs including interests charged at 12 per cent per annum which was to be calculated from March 3, 2010.

“Both the Ministry of Defence and Attorney General, knowing that I am totally bed-ridden and in need of 24-hour medical attention, continuously frustrated my efforts to receive the rightful amount awarded by the court to facilitate my present and future medical expenses,” said Ochanda.

He went on: “I have followed up with various government offices, such as Office of the Attorney General, Commission of Administrative Justice, and Kenya National Commission of Human Rights among others for assistance. My appeals to the AG and Ministry of Defence have fallen on deaf ears.”

Yesterday, Ochanda appeared before the Senate National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations lying in his bed to prosecute his petition already before the House why action should be taken against DoD.

Driven in an ambulance from his residence at Athi River and accompanied by caregivers, his wife and his only son John, Ochanda narrated to the lawmakers the sufferings he has undergone for the last 37 years.
He told senators that after many years in court amid his suffering, pain and agony, the Ministry of Defence decided to pay him a small amount of money, in total disregard to the court decree.

“Shockingly, they are adamant that they have fully satisfied the decree. I have made the best efforts to have the matters addressed by the relevant authorities all of which have failed to give a satisfactory response,” he said.

In his petition before the Senate, Ochanda prays that the House compels the Ministry of Defence to settle the decretal amount awarded by the court in 2011 and to help him get the disability pension outstanding from 1996 to date.