Kenya Defence Forces to remain in Somalia until peace is restored

Nairobi. Kenya Defence Forces soldiers will remain part of the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) until peace and stability are restored in the Horn of African country, President Uhuru Kenyatta said.

The President made the remarks during the passing ouit of the seventh batch of officer cadets at Kenya Military Academy in Lanet, Nakuru County, on Thursday.

“Our troops will continue being part of Amisom until the threat posed by the extremist group destabilising the country is neutralised,” he said,

And added: “The defence forces are steadfast in their mission of bringing lasting peace and development in Kenya and her neighbours."

KDF soldiers were deployed to war-torn Somalia in 2011 following several attacks on Kenya by Al-Shabaab terrorists. They later joined troops from Uganda, Burundi and other African nations as part of Amisom.

LEARNING NEEDS

The commissioned officers underwent a three-year training in the revamped Bachelor of Science in Military and Security Studies offered by the Ministry of Defence and Kenyatta University.

They began the training in November 2016 and are to graduate at Kenyatta University in December.

The President urged Kenyans to help the defence forces fight terrorism.

“I laud the KDF for remaining steadfast in its missions and as a country. We shall continue embracing research in our training … to continue producing properly baked officers. Their efforts and commitment in keeping Kenya safe, especially in the fight against terrorism, have not gone unnoticed,” he added.

Mr Kenyatta said Kenya would continue reviewing and improving the training curriculum in line with the needs of KDF roles.

He said the curriculum would be at par with training offered in East Africa and the rest of the world.