Over 30 youth in Tana River County were on Thursday locked out of the ongoing Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) recruitment countrywide.
This is after they tested positive to various Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs).
Speaking to journalists in Hola, Officer in charge of the exercise in the County Lieutenant Colonel Paul Arusa told journalists that he was surprised by the big number of youth in the county who seem to have been engaging in unprotected sex.
The officers carried medical tests on more than 50 of the youth during the recruitment exercise at Hola Stadium.
"I do not know whether it is the culture of this place that allows the youth to engage in unprotected sex, because most of those we tested were suffering from STIs. However, we managed to get the candidates we wanted," Cln Aruasa said.
The youth were also found to have varicose veins in their legs, feet and arms, in tests carried out on them.
Cln Aruasa attributed the veins to the harsh climatic conditions in Coastal region's Tana River County.