President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni who is also the Commander‑in‑Chief of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) has hailed the army for their role in Africa’s security and stability through strategic professional training initiatives.
While officiating at the third graduation ceremony of the National Defence College- Uganda (NDCU) in Buikwe district today, Gen. Museveni congratulated the UPDF for doing the right thing for Uganda by developing key institutions which never existed before.
“I want to congratulate the National Resistance Movement (NRM) and UPDF for finally building a comprehensive infrastructure both human and physical, for the defence of Uganda and for contributing to the security of Africa,” President Museveni said, adding that going forward, they need to critically look in detail at the content of what is being taught, so that it captures properly the political economy of the world.
“All this time, all these problems you see in Africa are because of mistakes. They make philosophical, strategic and ideological mistakes,” the President noted.
He added that not understanding the role of the private sector, patriotism, Pan Africanism, and the concept of army building, has made most of the African countries fail to keep peace and this should be emphasized during the training.
“As you train our people, you should also bring these points out clearly, because we have written about them,” President Museveni noted, adding that it’s because of these attributes that the UPDF is now able to maintain peace in Uganda and also export it to neighboring countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, and South Sudan, sometimes without external funding except for Somalia.
The 3rd cohort consisted of 22 graduates who successfully completed the National Security and Strategic Studies course (the NDC Course). The 22 include two lady officers; Brig Gen. Charity Bainababo and Col. Betty Wanyera Musuya and one civilian Mr. Ronnie Smurts Amoro, a Principal Policy Analyst in the Ministry of Defense and Veteran Affairs (MoDVA).
President Museveni underscored the importance of NDC in equipping the commanders with knowledge in different areas of warfare such as combined arms, administration, the economy, the politics and social services which are crucial in building a capable human resource, key in strategic security.
“So the concept of combined arms is that you need to combine a number of elements to get success in fighting. You combine infantry support, weapons of infantry, Air Force, armor, all that communication, reconnoitring, that’s very, very important to you. We must be clear about that,” President Museveni said.
The President was also happy to note that citizens, especially traders have now picked interest in the East African Integration and are now advocating for it to become a reality.
“Traders are now demanding tarmacked roads connecting the East African countries to ease trade in the region.”
According to the Commandant of National Defence College- Uganda, Brig Gen. Alex Opolot Olupot, all the NDC course members successfully completed the National Security and Strategic Studies course and have also passed all the exams of the first part of their Masters in Security Strategy programme of Makerere University and will, after leaving NDC continue to complete their research paper for the awards of their masters degree.
He expressed gratitude on behalf of NDC to the Minister of Defence and UPDF senior leadership for their unwavering guidance and support towards the successful accomplishment of this course.
NDC-U is concurrently running two distinct but complementary courses. The primary course is National Security and Strategic Studies (NSSS) which runs for 11 months, and the second course being a two year Masters of Security Strategy (MASS) programme of Makerere University, (fully approved by the NCHE) and it runs in both NDC and Makerere University, anchored under the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS).
The Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs, Hon. Jacob Oboth Oboth underscored the role of the National Defence College-Uganda in strengthening national security and governance, owing to the complex security challenges faced today, that demand for well trained, informed and capable leaders.
“The college stands as a beacon of excellence in fostering a culture of collaboration and strategic thinking amongst our nation’s decision makers,”the minister said, adding that the UPDF military education program is very rich, spanning from offering certificates to Master’s degree equivalents and are now aspiring to establish a National Defence University, so as to consolidate all military professional trainings and internal capacity in areas of research and innovation, among others.
“The National Defence University, once established, will offer other higher security related courses, promoting research and development and innovation into appropriate security systems. I am also happy to announce that the National Defence College-Uganda will soon begin admitting course members from various ministries, departments and agencies,” the Minister stated.
He further informed the President that the college is in talks with neighbors, and negotiations are on to acquire the land around for further development as part of the ongoing efforts to improve the infrastructure of NDC.
The Deputy Chief of Defence Forces of the UPDF, Lt. Gen. Sam Okiding, described the National Defence College-Uganda as an institution dedicated to providing advanced military education and strategic training for senior officers and also civilians.
He further informed President Museveni that the college plays a crucial role in shaping leaders who can effectively address complex security issues and contribute to the country’s overall development.
“Your Excellency, through your leadership, we have made successful strides in the direction of development as a country, it’s the results of your visionary leadership that has brought us this far,” he said.
The Deputy CDF congratulated the graduates for embracing and succeeding in the strategic security course and urged them to directly tackle the challenges affecting national security such as corruption.
He also appreciated the college leadership and the teaching staff for the job well done.
Meanwhile, the overall leadership and academic excellence award was given to Col. Ronald Mulindwa Nangamba followed by Col. Henry Okumu Obbo.
Similarly, Mr. Ronnie Smurts Amoro was recognized for the exceptional contribution to the college’s academic legacy and the broader field of Strategic Studies, whose paper focused on health service delivery and national security, a critical review of Uganda’s health sector performance and prospects from 1986 to 2024. He was followed by Col. Nicholas Humble Nyesiga whose paper looked at the African peace and security architecture.
The National Defence College-Uganda was established as a formation within the UPDF by His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Uganda and Commander-in-Chief of the UPDF, on 14th November 2021. The College was officially inaugurated by the President on 28th January 2022, and the inaugural cohort of 18 course members commenced their studies on 31st January 2022.
The ceremony was also attended by among others, the Minister of state for Defence in charge of Veteran Affairs, Huda Oleru, the Permanent Secretary-Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs, Ms. Rosette Byengoma, and Hon. Diana Mutasingwa, the Minister of State in the office of the Vice President who is also the Woman Member of Parliament for Buikwe district.
Others were Commanders and senior officers of the UPDF.
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