“My friend, had it not been for that last-minute call, I would have killed you,” retired Major Charles Wachira told retired Colonel Tom Wanambisi as the two friends laughed off what would have been a horror experience 44 years ago.

The two decorated ex-soldiers joked about the fateful day’s events during a telephone conversation on Saturday, July 25, this year, a week before the 44th anniversary of the August 1, 1982, attempted coup by rebel Kenya Air Force soldiers.

Yet, while today they can make light of the moment, back then it was a life-or-death decision, one that changed the lives of the two young soldiers and altered the course of Kenya’s destiny.

Read: 1982 coup anniversary: How Army men helped defeat mutineers

At the time, Wachira, a captain with the Kenya Army’s 50th Air Cavalry Battalion (50 ACB), an airborne anti-tank battalion, had just landed his helicopter gunship at Embakasi Air Base after returning from a critical mission.

He was one of four pilots in two helicopters that had bombed Eastleigh Air Base on the orders of the then Army Commander, Lieutenant General John Sawe. That decision to bomb the base of the mutineering Air Force soldiers was part of a counter-offensive by forces loyal to then President Daniel arap Moi.

The other simultaneous mission, led by Sawe’s deputy, Major General Mahmoud Mohammed, was to recapture the national broadcaster, the Voice of Kenya (VoK).

The rebels, led by Senior Private Hezekiah Ochuka, had seized the installation and forced broadcaster Mambo Mbotela to announce that Moi’s regime had been toppled.

Senior Private Hezekiah Ochuka, who had assumed the title of chairman of the People's Redemption Council, which planned to replace President Moi.

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

After obliterating the Air Force fortress in Eastleigh, the next target for the Kenya Army helicopters was the VoK broadcasting house. It was unclear whether the loyal forces fighting their way into the facility had succeeded in recapturing it. Since the commanders did not want a pro-longed standoff, the order had been given to flatten the place.

Wachira recalls that his helicopter, which had been reloaded with missiles, was about to take off to bomb the state broadcasting house when their boss, 50 ACB Commander Lt Colonel Chris Kitundu, signalled them to abort the mission.

“If he had been a minute late, we would have destroyed VoK,” Wachira told the Nation in an earlier interview. That was the basis of the joking reflections between Wachira and Wanambisi last week.

The Nation caught up with Wanambisi for an interview on how he and his team recaptured VoK.

At the time of the abortive coup, Wanambisi was a staff officer in charge of planning at Ulinzi Headquarters.

When news of the attempted coup filtered through on the night of July 31-August 1, army commanders swiftly convened a crisis meeting to craft a counter-offensive.

Colonel (Rtd) Tom Wanambisi during an interview at his home in Trans Nzoia County on July 30, 2026.

Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation Media Group

Sawe, Mohamed, Brig Bernard Kiilu, the Chief of Operations at Defence Headquarters, and Humphrey Njoroge, a staff officer in charge of training at Army Headquarters, resolved that re-capturing VoK was key to restoring Moi’s rule.

Njoroge, now a Lt Gen (rtd), recalled in an interview last week that Gen Mohamed instructed him to assemble all crack shots from the 1st Battalion, Kenya Rifles.

It was the first military unit established by Kenya’s post-independence government and one that Gen Mohamed had commanded.

Disguised as military medics in Land Rover ambulances, the unit drove to VoK on the early morning of August 1 but established that they would be overwhelmed by the rebels’ firepower.

Mohamed ordered the troops to regroup at Kahawa Garrison, which would be instrumental in the operation to crush the rebellion.

Meanwhile, Wanambisi had been at the officers’ mess at Kahawa when he heard about the attempted coup.

The combat officer hurriedly summoned his driver to head to his Ulinzi office, but they had to turn back after encountering the rebels.

Read: Inside the ‘82 coup attempt: Why Hezekiah Ochuka’s men failed

“We drove back through a different route and on the way we met two army vehicles. One had Maj-Gen Mohammed and the other had Humphrey Njoroge, staff officer for operations. They ordered us to head straight to Kahawa Garrison,” recounted Wanambisi, who retired from the armed forces 30 years ago, during an interview last Thursday at his farm in Trans Nzoia County.

Mohamed’s final instructions at Kahawa Garrison before heading back to VoK were: “Tunaenda VoK na tunaenda kufa…” (“We are going to VoK and we are going to die”),” Njoroge remembered.

Among the leaders of the mission was Wanambisi.

“The operation entailed fighting in built-up areas, and the assignment was to regain control of VoK with minimal damage to property and loss of life. The documented operation lasted one hour,” recalled Colonel (rtd) Wanambisi.

He disclosed that he was allocated eight vehicles, and the troops were split into three platoons.

While he led the first platoon comprising 15 soldiers, the second platoon was led by Major George Oyeho and the third was under Lieutenant Geoffrey Kamutu.

“As the commander, I took a military lorry with 15 armed soldiers and we headed towards VoK. This was a challenging task considering that the Air Force rebels were patrolling the central business district while receiving orders from their command station at Eastleigh Air Base. Our aim was to minimise casualties during the operation,” Wanambisi said, adding that the troops had no radio communication since communications had been disrupted.

Daniel arap Moi — The late Daniel Arap Moi.

Photo credit: File | AFP

They met heavy resistance from the mutineers near the National Museum of Kenya, and they had to take cover.

“It was a life-or-death operation and any miscalculation could have cost us our lives. At one point, a bullet missed me by a whisker, but we had to soldier on,” he recalled.

Then they had a lucky break. A Land Rover with the celebrating mutineers slowed down and they emerged from their hideout, feigning that they, too, were coup supporters.

The rebels realised too late that it was an ambush.

“We drove the vehicle, camouflaged as an Air Force vehicle, straight to VoK and rammed the gate to force our way into the premises,” he recounted.

After an exchange of fire, they managed to overpower the rebels and regained control of the studio.

“At this stage, the mission was almost a success. We asked everyone at the studio to surrender. We announced our victory and assured Mr Mbotela of his security. At long last, we had taken control of VoK,” said Colonel (rtd) Wanambisi.

Maj- Gen Mohammed then took charge of the situation.

“The coup occurred when military commanders were in the process of harmonising operations of the Air Force, Army and Navy units. This followed the 1971 attempted coup due to some discontent in the force,” said Col (rtd) Wanambisi.

Read: 1982 coup anniversary: From junior teacher and bank teller to helicopter gunship pilots

He explained that the three forces remained semi-autonomous until 1977 when a restructuring process created a central command to coordinate military activities.

“The government carried out a crash programme to recruit and train more military officers locally and abroad between 1979 and 1981 to beef up its security. It was during this period that the likes of Ochuka were recruited and rapidly rose through the ranks,” disclosed Co (rtd) Wanambisi.

Ochuka’s military knowledge and connections enabled him to organise the coup, but he was forced to flee with his accomplices to Tanzania.

The coup plotters took off aboard a Buffalo aircraft they had commandeered from Eastleigh Air Base moments after the bombing of the airbase had started.

On board the Tanzania-bound flight were Ochuka, his sidekick Sgt Pancras Okumu, as well as the pilots Maj Nick Leshan and Maj William Marende.

Okumu, who was among the rebels who had seized VoK, would later testify in court that the coup had begun to collapse at around 10am when loyal forces staged a counter-attack to recapture the state broadcaster.

Holding facility for coup plotters

“I heard shooting and then I was informed that it was the army infantry,” Okumu testified during extradition hearings in Tanzania on August 29, 1982.

With Ochuka nowhere to be seen at the VoK battleground, Okumu also fled back to Eastleigh Air Base.

Here he found Ochuka frantically calling in air strikes against government forces from Nanyuki Air Base that had remained loyal to the government.

According to Okumu, helicopter gunships appeared over the horizon, but the rebels were uncertain whose side the pilots were on. These were the choppers flown by the Kenya Army pilots.

“A special investigation board was set up two days after the attempted coup was crushed to vet the Air Force and establish those who plotted the rebellion,” said Wanambisi, noting that it was based at Eastleigh Air Base.

It comprised Maj-Gen Mohammed (chairman), Major Njoroge (operations), Wanambisi (administration and personnel records), and Lt Col Ronald Chelagat (vice-chairman).

Read: A General’s 40-year wait for compensation over 1982 coup attempt

“Our role was to screen all Air Force personnel to know who took part in the coup and deal with specific cases,” said Wanambisi, adding that the exercise took two-and-a-half months.

“All the Air Force personnel were required to report to the nearest police station or military camp, where they were screened over their roles or innocence,” he explained.

He said Kamiti Maximum Prison was the holding facility for the suspects, who were later handed over to the military court for trial.

Col (rtd) Wanambisi disclosed that the Air Force unit was later reconstituted under Maj-Gen Mohammed. Major Njoroge was promoted to Lt Col and deployed to the Air Force, while Lt Col Chelagat was promoted to Colonel and appointed base commander at Nanyuki Air Base.

Unlike his colleagues, he was relocated to Army Headquarters but was not rewarded with a promotion.

He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Order (DCO) in 1983 for his role in suppressing the coup.

Wanambisi, an alumnus of Kapsabet Boys High School, joined the military as a cadet in 1967 and served in different positions before retiring in 1996 after 30 years of service.

He has since settled on his Maridadi Farm in Trans Nzoia County.

bbii@ke.nationmedia.com

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