Namibian President Hage Geingob has conferred the Order of the Rising Sun, first class medal to Lt General (Retired) Daniel Opande in Windhoek.
Lt Gen (Rtd) Opande was bestowed the second highest honour as part of appreciation for the sacrifice and contribution he made, along with other Kenyan soldiers, towards Namibia’s liberation struggle.
The retired Lt Gen dedicated the award to all the Kenyan soldiers serving in different missions across the world.
During his service, Lt General Opande commanded some of the most volatile peacekeeping operations in Africa, including, Namibia, Mozambique, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Born in 1943, Opande is a graduate of the British Army's Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
Opande was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in graduating from Sandhurst in 1964.
Opande is also a graduate of the British Army's Staff College, Camberley and the U.S. National Defense University at Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington DC, according to Wikipedia.
He was the first commanding officer of 9th Kenya Rifles, a newly formed infantry battalion, from 1979.
