Kenyan troops will not leave Somalia, the President has reiterated, saying terror group al Shabaab was still a threat.
Kenya Defence Forces soldiers have been fighting the group as part of the African Union Mission in Somalia.
This has resulted in retaliatory attacks, key among them being the massacre of 147 people, mostly students, at Garissa University College on April 2, 2015.
Al Shabaab also ambushed the soldiers at their bases in El Adde and Kulbiyow, leaving an unconfirmed number dead.
"Their sacrifice for our freedom and our motherland strengthens our resolve. We remain unbowed; Kenya shall prevail; and our democracy will endure," Uhuru said.
He observed a moment of silence while issuing his State of the Nation address at Parliament on Wednesday, saying the soldiers did not die in vain.
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The President asked Kenyans to support troops undertaking the critical mission in Somalia.
"We went to Somalia in 2011 and despite losing some of our gallant officers we must remember that when we win the fight we will then not have to fight them here," he said.
"Our engagement as part of Amisom has yielded significant success. We have degraded the capacity of
al Shabaab to carry out large-scale attacks in Kenya and elsewhere."
He noted that successive civilian governments have been established in Somalia and that a new President - Mohamed Abdullahi -
was elected peacefully.
On South Sudan, the President said Kenya was working with the country - the youngest in
East Africa -
to restore peace.
The two countries depend on each other to succeed, Uhuru said, adding more needs to be done for conflicting parties to
reconcile.
"In this regard, during my recent meeting with the Secretary General of the United Nations, I assured him of Kenya’s unwavering commitment within the IGAD framework and other bilateral and multilateral efforts to contribute towards a durable solution," he said.
Regarding inter-communal conflicts in Kenya, Uhuru said illegal small arms and
light weapons were flowing in and getting
into
criminals' hands.
But he added that his
government was keen on keeping all Kenyans safe.
"We have built a well-coordinated multi-agency approach to ensure public safety and security. We have invested in better equipment, training, and working tools," he said.
He added:
Our ratio of police to the population is 1 officer for 380 citizens, better than the prescribed UN ratio of 1 officer for every 450 citizens."