Besides securing Kenya's borders, the Kenya Defense Forces will now play a major role in the bolstering of the country's economy, President Uhuru Kenyatta has announced.
Traditionally, KDF has been an all round discipline, particularly playing roles in search and rescue missions in disaster struct areas besides giving treatment to the population.
But on Wednesday during the pass out parade for recruits at Recruits Training School in Eldoret, Uhuru invited the KDF team to start contributing towards the Industrialization.
The head of state asked the military to be the driving key on industrialization as he tries to regain his authority in safeguarding his legacy.
"President Uhuru Kenyatta today said @kdfinfo is playing a leading role in the efforts to speed up the pace of Kenya’s industrialisation. He called on the military to be direct drivers of Kenya’s prosperity by contributing more to national industrialization processes," State House reported.
"The President said the military’s involvement in industrialisation will not only boost Kenya’s capabilities in security-related logistics but will also support other sectors of national growth while expanding the scope of skills & competencies across the entire economic landscape," the statement further added.
The KDF team has played a key role in Kenya's economy but in most cases, they have only confined their contributions to specific regions across the country.
Uhuru was accompanied by Defense Secretary Raychelle Omamo, Chief of Defense Forces General Samson Mwathethe, his deputy Lieutenant General Robert Kibochi and service commanders.
Last weekend, Uhuru was pictured touring development projects at the coast in the company of General Mwathethe, a rare scenario since independence.