A rare Rhodesia Member of the Legion of Merit (M.L.M.) and Meritorious Service Medal (M.S.M.) pair awarded to Senior Game Scout Sergeant Keni “Kenny” Kasaruro, Rhodesia National Parks and Wildlife Management, a legendary tracker who was decorated for his gallantry in terrorist ambush and mine incidents

Rhodesia Member of the Legion of Merit, Civil Division, unnamed as issued, with wearing bar, in its case of issue; Rhodesia Meritorious Service Medal, Civil Division (Keni), with wearing bar, in its case of issue, together with his original Tracker Badge, good very fine or better (3) £600-700

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Keith Holshausen Collection.

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Just five Rhodesia Members of the Legion of Merit (M.L.M.) were made to African recipients, out of a total of 294 awards.

Member of the Legion of Merit (M.L.M.), Civil Division Rhodesian Government Notice 1004/78 of 15 September 1978, the citation for which states: ‘Senior Scout Keni of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Management. For a number of years Senior Scout Keni has been stationed in a sensitive area and has been involved in numerous incidents with terrorists. He has shown conspicuous courage, resourcefulness and determination beyond the call of duty.’

Rhodesia Meritorious Service Medal (M.S.M.), Civil Division Rhodesian Government Notice 1279/76 of 11 November 1976, the citation for which states:‘For brave and gallant conduct over and above the call of duty in a non-combatant role. On the 13 June 1975, at Mana Pools, Ranger Jones and Winhall trod on and detonated an anti-personnel mine. At the time of the incident Sergeant Keni showed bravery and complete disregard for his own safety by immediately dashing into the area of the explosion and pulling both Rangers clear. He then showed initiative and presence of mind in applying limited first aid, and taking complete command of the entire situation. Both Rangers stated that it was largely due to Sergeant Keni’s efforts that the injury sustained by Ranger Jones did not prove fatal.’

Keni “Kenny” Kasaruro, who was born in 1938 and came from the Karoi area of Rhodesia, completed 34 years of exemplary service with the Rhodesia Department of National Parks and Wildlife Management, in which he won acclaim for his work as a tracker. In fact accounts of Keni’s gallant deeds appear in several histories stemming from the Bush War period, including The Incredibles, the history of the 1st Battalion, The Rhodesia Light Infantry, by Geoffrey Bond, in which he is credited with being ‘a bloody good tracker’, not least on the occasion he led his section to terrorists who had been operating in the vicinity of Angwa River during Operation Cauldron - as a result two of them were killed (see chapter entitled “The Young Lions” for further details).

But probably one of the best descriptions of Keni at work is to be found in Shadows in an African Twilight, by Kevin Thomas, in which Ranger Steve Edwards recounts the gallantry of Keni in the aftermath of a terrorist ambush at Mana Pools in the Zambezi Valley in March 1977: ‘Our truck driver was killed instantly in the initial salvo when Z.I.P.R.A. sprung the ambush, and his truck came to an immediate halt on the left side of the road, right in the middle of the killing ground. Due to the road camber, the open top of the truck leant towards the killer group, offering a totally unprotected target. When the ambush was initially sprung, we took a number of casualties amongst the Game Scouts including five killed. Some of those killed had debussed right into the killing ground. Gerry Bell had arrived soon after, and seeing the stationary truck, thought it had a puncture. According to Game Scout Sergeant Kenny [Keni], who was travelling with Gerry, when they pulled up alongside the truck they realised there had been an ambush, but at that point Z.I.P.R.A. immediately subjected them to a heavy volume of fire. Gerry was hit in the left side of his chest, near the armpit, he slumped forward, groaned once, and then sagged limp against the steering wheel. His Land Rover slowed down, veered across to the right, and then, about 20 metres on, stalled. Sergeant Kenny too, had been shot, through the ankle, but after establishing that Gerry Bell was dead, he debussed from the stationary vehicle. When Kenny debussed, the Z.I.P.R.A. insurgents rose up from their ambush positions and advanced towards him, keeping him under heavy fire. The plucky game scout returned their fire, during which time an insurgent round hit the gas regulator on his N.A.T.O. FN, forcing the wounded Sergeant to keep manually cocking his weapon and firing single shots. Miraculously, it was at this stage that an elephant cow herd noisily burst out of the jesse bush from the right side of the road. Their sudden appearance seems to have intimidated Z.I.P.R.A. because Kenny later reported that the volume of fire being directed at him immediately slackened off. Being a sage bush wise Game Scout, the wounded Kenny purposely hobbled straight into and through the spread out herd of trumpeting and screaming elephant. He later told us that it was undoubtedly the elephant herd pitching up that had saved his life; Z.I.P.R.A. had been too scared of them to chase the fleeing Game Scout. With his ordeal not yet over, the courageous and wounded man hobbled through the bush, all the way to Mana Pools H.Q., arriving towards midnight, and reported the ambush to Graham Wiltshire ... ’

Kenny was appointed a Member of the Legion of Merit, Civil Division, and Senior Ranger Wiltshire, who followed up on Keni’s report, the Medal for Meritorious Service, Civil Division.

But Keni’s formidable talents were not solely directed towards combating Z.I.P.R.A. for, as widely reported by local media in the early 1990s, he tracked and shot the notorious man-eating lion by the name of ‘Maswerese’ - a Shona greeting! - which had been terrorising the people of the Omay Communal area and the story.

Sold with the original citations for the recipient’s M.L.M. and M.S.M., both in the name of Senior Scout Keni, framed and glazed; together with colour photographs of Keni in uniform and in a group photograph with fellow members of the Matusadona National Park Staff 1981-82, and a National Parks and Wildlife Management badge.