President Paul Kagame on Friday said that there is a battlefield beyond the physical one, where Rwanda Defence Forces must always be ready to protect the country's security and stability uncompromisingly.

The head of state, who is also the Commander in Chief highlighted this while presiding over the graduation of 47 senior military and police officers who have been undertaking a one-year course at the Senior Command and Staff College of Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) in Musanze.

29 of the 47 senior military and police officers earned a master's degree of arts in security studies.

"The continuous acquisition of knowledge and skills, and the training of leaders in all fields, is an important part of Rwanda’s development trajectory. The armed forces are no exception," President Kagame said.

The 47 officers graduating today, he added, embarked on this course with a clear understanding of the role of the RDF as an integral part of our country’s identity and transformation journey.

"We must continue to consolidate the values of trust, consensus, and accountability that characterize our society, and to which our defence and security institutions have always actively contributed."

Equality is a mindset

Kagame told the graduands that as 21st century officers, you they are tasked to operate in a volatile geopolitical and security environment, as part of an ever more inter-connected, unequal world.

"Unequal therefore adds another dimension of responsibility," he said, "How do we base on this knowledge and commitment; and even with limited resources, how can we raise ourselves to that level, where we feel we are equal with others."

For Rwanda, the head of state pointed out,  I think we have a good understanding of who we are, where we are coming from and where we are going and want to be.

President Kagame called upon on the graduating officers to embrace the mindset that Rwandans and Africans are as equally deserving as others in terms of freedom, respect, and prosperity.

"We must be diligent in securing better lives for our people, and contributing to a better world for all."

"Raising ourselves to the level where we feel we are equal with others is also an issue of mindset. It’s an issue of choices we have made or we want to make going forward. Being equal shouldn’t be just words, it should be demonstrated in real life."

The ceremony marked the ninth cohort graduation since the inauguration of the college.

Brigadier General Didace Ndahiro, the Commandant of the collegeNdahiro pointed out that 413 have graduated from it so far in senior command and staff course, and 447 graduates for junior command and staff courses.

Going forward, he said that the college will bolster its ability in building a professional army that is ready to deal with the contemporary security challenges.