The first graduation ceremony at the National Defence University Kenya (NDU-K) was a spectacular event with 167 graduates honoured with masters’ degrees and post-graduate diplomas.

Kenya’s President William Ruto, also Commander-in-Chief of the country’s defence forces, was present as NDU-K chancellor to present the successful students with their certification denoting the “culmination of years of hard work and intellectual engagement” according to a Defence Ministry statement.

The university is the only one of its kind in eastern Africa and draws its students from East Africa and from as far afield as Egypt, Zambia, Mali and Ghana.

It being modelled along the lines of premier defence universities like Sandhurst in the united States, King’s College and Durham University in the UK and Royal Military College of Canada, among others.

Addressing graduates, their families and guests as well as senior Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) officers, Ruto said the accomplishments of successful students was “a manifestation of the values and principles of the university and a significant belief that sound education, quality training and robust skills development are pillars of a strong and secure nation”.

The successful NDU-K graduation “debunked” the notion of defence or security being “deficient of education” as well as having “no time for ideas and higher education”.

“NDU-K has not only proven such a profile inaccurate; it also demonstrated our national defence sector is a leader in scholarship, research, training and innovation,” he said.

Turning to the KDF, Ruto said for it to “effectively discharge its mandate of defending our nation and contributing to regional and global peace, defence warriors must always be the best thinkers and philosophers in their fields of academic interest”.

“The national, regional and international defence landscape has over time evolved and this understanding demands a strong command of relevant knowledge and analytical skills and a consistent capacity to continuously define and refine strategic vision to deal with modern security complexities,” the Kenyan president told the graduation ceremony.

Graduates are Kenyan senior military officers and service personnel, senior civil servants from different ministries as well as the National Intelligence Service, National Youth Service, Kenya Forest Service, Immigration Department and senior military officers from Burundi, Egypt, Nepal, India, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Zambia.

• A Tell report