Lesotho army chief visits, seeks stronger military ties with Rwanda

The commander of Lesotho Defence Force, Lt Gen Kennedy Tlali Kamoli, arrived in Rwanda on Sunday for a five-day working visit, along with a high-powered delegation of eight senior military officers from the Southern African nation. Yesterday, the delegation kicked off their visit with a tour of the Kigali Genocide memorial in Gisozi where they paid tribute to the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, and later paid a courtesy call on senior officials at Defence ministry and Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) headquarters. The delegation met with Defence minister James Kabarebe and RDF Chief of Defence Staff Gen Patrick Nyamvumba. They are also expected to tour key RDF installations and institutions such as the Senior Command and Staff College Nyakinama, Horizon Group, Rwanda Military Hospital, the Military Medical Insurance (MMI), and Zigama CCS, among others. Speaking to media, shortly after meeting with Minister Kaberebe and Gen Nyamvumba, yesterday, Lt Gen Kamoli said the visit aimed at strengthening military ties between the two countries. The two nations had a lot to learn from each other in this area, he said. “There are some projects that we want to learn from here that we can replicate back home; for instance the Army Week, where the army gets involved in activities that directly impact the people and nation,” he said. Lt Gen Kamoli noted that RDF has a number of projects which are critical for the country’s socio-economic development, something the Lesotho army was equally keen on. “We are both African defence forces, we will always find something common between us and we can learn a lot from each other so as to develop together as a continent,” Kamoli said. He observed that Rwanda and Lesotho armies could also cooperate in trainings, especially in mutual areas of interest. The Acting Military and Defence Spokesperson, Lt. Col Rene Ngendahimana, said Lt Gen Kamoli’s visit to Rwanda represented “a new chapter” of stronger bilateral ties between the two countries. “The cooperation between Rwanda and Lesotho defence forces can only get stronger after Lt Gen Kamoli’s meeting with the Minister of Defence and the CDS,” said Ngendahimana, adding that, “they discussed how they can strengthen relations between the two forces”. It is expected that the delegation will tour the City of Kigali before concluding their visit. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

News

Lesotho army chief visits, seeks stronger military ties with Rwanda