President William Ruto has challenged the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) to stay ahead of fast-changing security threats, warning that future battles will increasingly involve technology, cyber attacks, climate shocks, disease outbreaks, drones and risks to critical infrastructure.
Speaking on Thursday during the 46th KDF passing-out parade at the Defence Forces Recruits Training School in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County, Ruto said the military must keep adapting as Kenya prepares for development beyond Vision 2030.
He told Cohort 01 of 2025 that their graduation marked a major shift from civilian life to national service, bringing with it greater responsibility and expectations.
“You arrived here from different families, different communities, and different counties of our republic. You leave today as one force, under one flag, bound by one constitution. That is the first transformation this school performs. It is not the last one your service will demand,” President Ruto highlighted.
Ruto urged the new servicemen and women to serve with courage, discipline and restraint, saying their true test would begin after leaving the training school.
“But a passing out parade is not where your worth is proven. It is proven later in the character, the judgment, and the professionalism you carry into service.”
The President said Kenya’s security and development goals were closely linked, noting that the country must first identify what needs protection as it plans for the decades ahead.
“Security and development are not competing priorities; they are the same foundation, viewed from two different directions. Security enables development. Development strengthens security,” he stated.
President William Ruto inspecting a guard of honour during the 46th passing-out parade of KDF recruits at the Defence Forces Recruits Training School in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County on August 13, 2026. PHOTO/PCS
He reminded the recruits that the KDF’s constitutional role includes defending Kenya’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, assisting civilian authorities during emergencies and disasters and, with parliamentary approval, helping restore peace where instability threatens the country.
Ruto also pointed to the wider role of military expertise in supporting national development, citing engineering, logistics, medicine, cyber security and maritime operations.
“Military engineers strengthen strategic infrastructure. Military logistics move people, equipment, and relieve supplies when civilian systems are overwhelmed. Military medicine saves lives when disaster or pandemic strikes. Cyber capability protects both the defence systems that we have and the digital infrastructure in banking, healthcare, transport, and government.”
He cited KDF participation in infrastructure development and the construction of maritime assets locally as examples of how military capabilities can also contribute to industrial growth.
Ruto warned that the security landscape was changing quickly, with new threats emerging both within and beyond traditional battlefields. He listed cyberspace, drones, artificial intelligence, climate shocks, disease outbreaks and weaknesses in critical infrastructure among the challenges the military must prepare to confront.
“Tomorrow’s KDF must be as strong in knowledge as it is in courage, as fluent in technology as it is in tactics, as prepared to anticipate danger as it is ready to answer to it,” he said.
The President said the government would continue investing in the welfare, training and readiness of KDF personnel while building capacity in areas including cyber security, intelligence, maritime security and military medicine.
He challenged the graduates to remain committed to the Constitution and to protect Kenya’s sovereignty, people, unity and future as they begin their military careers.
“KDF must not simply defend the country Kenya is today; it must secure the country Kenya intends to become,” he concluded.