Remarks · 25 May 2023
I am delighted to join the entire National Defence College family on this truly special day as you mark an important milestone in our collective journey as a nation, together with our dear friends from various parts of Africa and the rest of the world. This is a goal towards enhancing our capacity to secure freedom, opportunity and development in order to foster national socioeconomic transformation.
I am glad therefore to have this opportunity to officiate this auspicious occasion of the graduation ceremony of a special cohort, the National Defence College Course 25, of the Academic Year 2022/2023.
I take this early opportunity to congratulate you, the graduands of Course 25-2022/23, upon the successful completion of your studies. Let me commend the Commandant, Directing Staff and entire College fraternity for having successfully steered the graduands during their course. Further, I extend my commendation to your families and friends who have supported you during your yearlong period that you were here.
I also wish to express my appreciation on the role and achievements of the National Defence College (NDC), an institution that has consistently maintained an admirable record and continues to make significant contribution towards positively shaping Kenya’s National Security and overall development agenda. Since its inception in 1997, it has sustained a magnificent tradition of providing world class training and research on National Security Policy and Strategy.
It is a matter of great pride and satisfaction that this college has sustained, committed to develop and promote professional leadership skills that has continuously enhanced quality and integrity in the management of national security policy and strategy and deepened our overall capacity to bring about desirable peace and security in our region and further afield.
I commend in particular the fact that each year, for more than two decades now, the quality, rigour and impact of the college’s programmes have continued to attract participants from the Kenya Defence Forces and their counterparts from Africa and beyond. Additionally, an increasing number of Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies are taking up the opportunity offered by this college to enhance the competencies of their senior officers and to increase effective understanding of National Security imperatives and strategic thought outside the mainstream national security services sector. The participation by officers drawn from diverse sectors enlarges our shared understanding, fosters collaboration, enhances synergy and strengthens integration among government agencies in addressing the ever-evolving, increasingly complex national and regional security landscape.
The NDC has grown steadily, year after year and has attracted continuously increasing numbers of participants, such that this graduating cohort, with 70 participants is the largest course so far. This is highly encouraging and commendable. I am also pleased to note the widening international reach by the college especially in Africa, which attests to a growing appetite throughout our continent for common approaches to regional and national policy and strategy. This is excellent news for the future of continental integration and the Africa We all Want.
Among the participants, there are 11 female officers from various agencies. Whilst this number may appear low by civilian standards, I am satisfied that such a number of senior officials, let alone senior military officers, represents tremendous and commendable progress, and the promise of even better representation in the future. I therefore have no hesitation in commending the Ministry of Defence for their commitment to enhance gender inclusivity at all levels of recruitment and training.
It is also worth noting that many alumni of this college have proceeded to demonstrate high levels of high resourcefulness, motivation, professional commitment and talent. Consequently, they have risen to serve in critical and high-level positions of leadership and management, both in Kenya and abroad. Many notable and highly accomplished Kenya Military Officers, who rose to be Chiefs of Defence Forces (including Generals Kianga, Karangi, Mwathethe, Kibochi and the current CDF, Gen Ogolla) are alumni of this institution.
In the Public Service, numerous alumni have risen to become Principal Secretaries and heads of such disciplined services such as; National Police Service, Kenya Prison Service, Kenya Wildlife Service, in Kenya, as well as other organisations in East Africa and the broader region at large. These distinguished NDC Alumni continue to influence and promote the development of organisations and policies necessary to enhance and harness available national capacity and to determine realistic and practical ways and means of achieving national objectives through synergies and collaborations across government and public sector, in the wider context of National Security and National Interest.
I, therefore, urge all other MDAs to take up appropriate learning opportunities at NDC to enable us build a critical mass of likeminded senior officials who will contribute to national policy through home-grown solutions at the strategic level. I also wish to urge the Ministry of Defence to prioritize the expansion of the college’s facilities to meet the growing demand.
As you may recall, the National Defence University-Kenya (NDU-K) was awarded its charter on 27th May, 2021 as a specialised degree awarding institution of national strategic importance. NDU-K is a culmination of a long-held strategic ambition by successive generations of military commanders, who conceptualized the promotion of scholarship in strategic thought in pursuit of Kenya’s national interest within a broader, more dynamic, complex and ever-mutating national, regional and global defence and security context.
The University is expected to foster the professional development of strategic leaders and commanders who embrace a holistic approach to defence and security, and who are strongly focused on finding sustainable solutions to contemporary defence and security challenges through research, innovation and academic discourse.
As we celebrate the great achievement by this important institution, I wish to point out that such a powerful forward leap can only have been achieved, thanks to dedicated leadership and a great deal of astute organizational management and strong discipline. As such, I wish to thank and congratulate the entire KDF fraternity led by the Cabinet Secreyary Defence, the CDF and their officers for their diligence in rendering this commendable service to the nation.
I also congratulate the College Advisory Board, under the stewardship of the Principal Secretary of Public Service, the Vice Chief of Defence Forces and the Commandant and his entire faculty and staff for the good work that they continue to do in advancing this institution to be a regional centre of excellence.
At this juncture, I congratulate you, Course No. 25 Participants, and wish you all a happy Graduation Day. I encourage you to live up to the ideals and aspirations of the National Defence College and to spearhead strategic national aspirations within your institutions in the capacities you shall be assigned to from here. I wish you a safe travel back to your countries and homes and request you to take with you a message of hope and resilience to the people you serve. God Bless You All. God Bless Kenya.