President Uhuru Kenyatta has confirmed that the Kenya Defence Forces will not leave Somalia until stability is found in the country.
Speaking on Thursday at the Kenya Military Academy in Lanet, Nakuru County, where he commissioned new cadet officers who have completed rigorous three-year training, Uhuru said the Kenyan forces will remain in Somalia until Al-Shabaab threat is neutralised and Somalia is stabilized.
“In pursuance of this objective and that of the international community, our troops will continue being part of Amisom until such a time that this objective has been achieved,” the President said as quoted by the Star.
President Uhuru further said that Kenya has been making it a priority to boost regional security, adding that is the reasons the country has been involved in stabilizing countries affected by conflict.
He also stated that a country grows in every aspect when it well balanced in key areas like having peace, security, and good governance, thus encouraging the officers to remain brave in delivering their duties.
“Courage calls for self-confidence, moral ascendancy, self-sacrifice, honesty, fairness, initiative, decisiveness, and dignity," Uhuru noted.
KDF first crossed the border into Somalia in 2011 after Al-Shabaab militia threats to Kenya.
Their mission which was expected to end just in a year is yet to come to an end.
The soldiers operate under the regional regional peacekeeping mission, Amisom.