3 Kenya Rifles (nicknamed the ''The Scarlets''; possibly 3rd Battalion, The Kenya Rifles) is an infantry battalion of the

Kenya Army The Kenya Army is the land arm of the Kenya Defence Forces. History The origin of the present day Kenya Army lie with the British Army's King's African Rifles. In the last quarter of the 19th Century the British began actively enforcing the aboli ...

and the senior most unit of the Kenya Army.

History

It traces its history back to the first private armed forces recruited by the

British East Africa Company The Imperial British East Africa Company (IBEAC) was a commercial association founded to develop African trade in the areas controlled by the British Empire. The company was incorporated in London on 18 April 1888 and granted a royal charter by Q ...

in 1888 to protect its trading interests and to region. The battalion later became the 3rd Battalion,

Kings African Rifles The King's African Rifles (KAR) was a multi-battalion British colonial regiment raised from Britain's various possessions in East Africa from 1902 until independence in the 1960s. It performed both military and internal security functions withi ...

stationed at

Fort Jesus Fort Jesus (Portuguese: ''Forte Jesus de Mombaça, Spanish: Fuerte de Jesús'') is a fort located on Mombasa Island. Designed by Italian Giovanni Battista Cairati, it was built between 1593 and 1596 by order of King Felipe II of Castille, ...

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

in 1900. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the battalion was involved in expeditions and campaigns against the Germans in

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

. When the Somali Republic gained independence in 1960, it took part in the

Shifta War The Shifta War or Gaf Daba (1963–1967) was a secessionist conflict in which ethnic Somalis in the Northern Frontier District (NFD) of Kenya attempted to join Somalia. The Kenyan government named the conflict "shifta", after the Swahilli wor ...

when the battalion was notably commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel

Jackson Mulinge Jackson Kimeu Mulinge was a Kenyan military officer, and Chief of the General Staff in the 1980s. He was the longest serving head of Kenya's Armed Forces and the first Kenyan military officer to attain the rank of four-star general. Early life Mu ...

Current Role

The battalion carries on with its defence duties under the larger Kenya Army and has recently been heavily involved in counter-insurgency operations against Al-Shabaab in Southern Somalia. On occasion the unit also participates in ceremonial duties such as national parades and other state events. The battalion has won many trophies in various fields of competition like rifle shooting, athletics, boxing and football. The battalion is allied with the

Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment was a short-lived infantry regiment of the British Army. History The regiment was formed in 1994 by the amalgamation of the Gloucestershire Regiment and the Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Re ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

Narung'ombe Day

Every 19 July the battalion celebrates its regimental day dubbed 'Narung'ombe Day' in honour of soldiers who have perished while serving in the unit. The day is named after the

Battle of Narungombe The Battle of Narungombe was fought between the German Empire and Portugal during the East African Campaign (World War I), East African Campaign of World War I. The battle honour "Narungombe" has been granted to the Ghana Regiment, King's Africa ...

that took place in Tanzania during the first world war. The date was subsequently adopted as the regimental day due to the unit's gallantry during the battle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:3 Kenya Rifles Military units and formations of Kenya

History

Current Role

Narung'ombe Day

See also

References