Twenty five former Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldiers have successfully appealed their life sentence for desertion at the High Court in Mombasa.
The ex soldiers were being accused that on diverse dates in 2007 and 2008, they left the military and joined private America security firms which deployed them to Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria Kuwait and Jordan.
Justice Martin Muya on Friday said the prosecution failed to prove the charges of desertion that the soldiers were facing.
Justice Muya however said that the charge of absence without leave was proven and the amount of time the soldiers spent in custody was enough punishment.
“The ex soldiers are hereby set free,” said Justice Muya.
During their appeal, the ex soldiers argued that the government charged them illegally in military courts yet they had become civilians after resigning.
The soldiers through their lawyer further argued that their offences took place in 2007 but they were charged and convicted under the Kenya Defence Forces Act of 2010 yet they left the force before it was enacted.
The lawyer argued his clients were serving an illegal sentence saying the ex soldiers constitutional rights were violated.
The government however said the 25 ex soldiers had allegedly not followed the correct procedure of resigning and they were therefore still serving soldiers.