The National Defence College (NDC) Kenya held its 20th graduation ceremony in Karen, Nairobi, which marked the end of 48 weeks of hard work, sacrifice and determination by the forty (40) graduands.
The course participants comprised of senior military officers and senior civil servants from Botswana, Burundi, Kenya, Malawi, Egypt, Togo, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe selected for preparation of higher responsibilities in the direction and management of national security and other related areas of public policy.
Since its establishment, the college has trained 641 Kenyan military and public officers and 207 officers from friendly countries who after graduation occupy senior positions in security agencies and other related areas of public policy.
The chief guest, Cabinet Secretary of Defence, Ambassador Raychelle Omamo, said it was a great honour to preside over the ceremony, congratulating the graduates on their successful completion of the course.
“11 members of the graduating class were drawn from 10 states, and we are honoured and proud that your countries selected our NDC to further your military and professional careers as it is an indication that the college is held in high esteem by our regional counterparts. Your presence in Kenya this past year reinforces the bonds of friendship between our countries bringing unity and peaceful Africa," she said on Thursday.
Omamo said that NDC’s former students wield positions of leadership and decision making in the defence forces, other security organs, the civil service and government agencies in Kenya and throughout the region.
"They play crucial roles in the advancement of peace and security on our continents and are symbols of excellence, diligence and disciple for our young populations."
She further said the advent of terrorism, cyber crime, and resource conflicts fuelled by climate change, together with changes in global power relations with poverty and inequality have triggered fundamental and confounding shifts in the patterns of conflict, which presents African strategies with challenges, demanding a transformation regarding the nature of peace, sovereignty, security threats and conflict management solutions needed to pre-empt them.