President Kagame interacts with a child and relative of one of the graduating cadet officer as he looks on. Photos/Urugwiro Village.
On Monday, President Paul Kagame presided over the pass out of 624 officer cadets who graduated from Rwanda Military Academy (RMA) -Gako, of whom 51 were females, while 33 were junior officers who graduated after completing their studies in neighbouring countries.
A total of 102 cadet officers graduated after completing a four year training course in both military and university studies, in different disciplines, including social and military sciences, general medicine as well as mechanical and energy engineering.
A total of 522 granduads, completed a 1-year military course. Of those, 355 who were junior officers 167 who were civilians but had a bachelors degree. The pass out ceremony was attended by senior officials as well as parents and guardians of the graduates.
President Kagame thanked the parents and guardians for supporting their children’s decision to join the country’s armed forces and called on the young and energetic soldiers to defend the country, to ensure that what happened 30 years ago doesn’t happen again, adding that Rwanda does not look to start a war with anyone.
He however urged the young officers that they should ensure that whoever seeks to destabilize Rwanda learns a lesson.
“There are some who believe that the role of an army is to wage wars. That is a mistake. The armed forces of our country do not exist to create or provoke wars. The history of our country is one where people were killed by fellow citizens, as a result of bad politics, both internally and externally,”
“Children, the elderly, young men and women were asked to choose the weapon of their death. When a nation has reached this level of tragedy, it would be unthinkable for us to repeat this history,” President Kagame said.
Graduates and their families had an opportunity to pose for a photos with President Kagame.
He pointed out that the training of Rwanda’s armed forces, and the knowledge of the country’s past, cannot allow for the tragic history to ever repeat itself, reminding the soldiers to be the ones to safeguard such legacy.
“That is your responsibility as the armed forces of this country: yours, the elders you are joining today and anyone who will come after you. And you must pursue it with dedication and integrity.” President Kagame said.
According to Brig. Gen Franco Rutagengwa, Commandant, RMA- Gako, the cadet officers went through rigorous training, both academic and military disciplines and were carefully selected for the task.
‘They went through serious training, 25 of them were not able to complete the course,” Brig. Gen Rutagengwa said, adding that RMA, which currently has 10 departments, is aspiring to train the best individuals in all disciplines of life, while equipping them with the necessary military skills to cope with today’s challenges.
He pointed out that the military institution is working hand-in-hand with other institutions, including the Ministry of Education and University of Rwanda (UR) to develop the best curriculum, putting in place the necessary facilities and ensuring quality of education.
It was a special moment for the graduating cadets and their families.
Out of the 624 graduates, 51 were females.
President Kagame reminded the graduates of the service duty.
