President William Ruto has called on Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to leverage the opportunities offered by the National Defence Council to enhance the capacities of their staff.
Praising the college for its excellence, Ruto highlighted its role in producing leaders who have ascended to critical and high-level positions of leadership and management.
This, he said, includes top military bosses.
Among the notable figures he listed are former Chief of Defence Forces Jeremiah Kianga, Julius Karangi, Samson Mwathethe, Robert Kibochi and late Francis Ogolla.
“Numerous alumni have also become principal secretaries and heads of discipline services such as national police service, Kenya prisons service and Kenya wildlife service,” he stated.
Ruto made the remarks during the graduation ceremony for course 26 at the college.
On the international level, Ruto revealed that the former Chief of Defence Forces from Tanzania and Uganda also graduated from the college.
Ruto emphasised the significant role the college’s alumni play in shaping national policies and achieving critical objectives through a whole-of-society approach.
“To build on this legacy of excellence, I urge all MDAs to seize the opportunity to develop a mass of senior like-minded officials capable of influencing policies and generating homegrown solutions at the strategic level,” he said.
He stressed that enhancing the mindset and capacity of such individuals is crucial for effectively implementing the Kenya Kwanza transformation agenda.
At the same time, Ruto announced that the US government in partnership with the Ministry of Defence is building a new tuition block.
The facility, he said, will help to address the growing demand for training spots.
NDC offers the National Security and Strategy course to not only military officers from the country but also other countries.
It also trains persons from various ministries.
It was accredited to the University of Nairobi in 2002 to offer a Diploma and Master of Arts degree in International studies as part of the college curriculum to improve the quality of the knowledge acquired by participants.
The duration of the course is 48 weeks.
Within this period, participants who have registered for university certification will take the appropriate examinations for Master of Arts, Diploma or Certificate in International Studies.
The course structure is such that it has four terms with the first term of 16 weeks covering foundation studies and the second term which also has 16 weeks covering the domestic scene.
During the third term (12 weeks), students cover international affairs with the last term of four weeks meant for national security.
During the last week of the course, a National security seminar takes place, through which Kenya’s national vision and grand strategy is articulated.
A cross-section of prominent personalities are also invited to share their experiences and views.