President Uhuru Kenyatta has inaugurated the National Defence University-Kenya (NDU-K).
He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to empowering the country’s defence, security and governance professionals through the provision of quality training.
Uhuru spoke on Wednesday during the inauguration ceremony at Lanet in Nakuru County.
He emphasized that without high-quality human capital, the pursuit of sustained socio-economic development will remain a mere dream.
"As part of our broad reforms in the education sector, my administration has had to rethink this view; because we equally need strategic thinkers even in the security sector," he said.
NDU-K is the first public university to be established under Section 24 of the Universities Act 2012 as an entity of national strategic importance.
Uhuru said he is satisfied that the institution of higher learning has joined the ranks of a few international universities mandated to offer high-quality security-related training and education programmes.
He added that the establishment of NDU-K aligns well with the overall government strategy of crystalizing the reforms in the education sector.
He pointed out that this will drive forth Kenya’s socio-economic transformation agenda.
On May 27, 2021, Uhuru, who is the NDU-K Chancellor awarded a charter creating the institution that will confer specialized degrees and offer courses in the fields of defence, security and strategy.
"I am glad to note that within the 12-month transition period, the university has made commendable progress against the benchmarks set out in the governing instruments, especially the charter," he said.
"We now have fully functioning management and governance frameworks to facilitate seamless service delivery to stakeholders."
The President pointed out that the university will contribute to strengthening Kenya’s position as an education hub.
It will also enhance the country’s capacity to align with the evolving regional and global security environment.
"Fundamentally, the NDU-K as a national think-tank shall play an active role in transforming our peace and security frameworks for posterity," he added.
President Uhuru urged the university council and management to optimize the institution’s capabilities and align its programmes with best practices through mentorship and benchmarking to ensure continuous improvement of human capital and infrastructure.
"As I prepare to pass the leadership baton to the next administration, I wish to state that it has not just been an honour for me to serve as your Commander-in-Chief but more importantly, I really appreciate the support you have rendered to me in building our nation," he said.
"I will remain forever grateful given the enormous strides we have accomplished together for this great country."
Chief of the Defence Forces General Robert Kibochi said the institute stands out as one of the pillars of training in higher education and research in the entire continent of Africa.
Present at the ceremony were Defence CS Eugene Wamalwa, the university’s Vice-Chancellor Lt General J. M. Mwangi and other senior state officials.
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