- Duale said the military will continue to be an anchor for regional peace.
- With the approval of the National Assembly, Duale said KDF may be deployed internally.
Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has promised to fight for the KDF welfare to enhance the country's role as an anchor for peace in the region.
Duale, who spoke on Monday at the Defence Headquarters, said under his leadership, the country will continue to modernise and equip KDF to guarantee territorial integrity.
The new CS said that KDF involved in military operations within the country and in peacekeeping missions must be equipped with necessary and adequate fighting tools and materials.
Duale vowed to ensure KDF's better conditions of service, decent housing, adequate medical scheme and more budgetary allocation by Parliament.
“I will ensure that KDF maintains high levels of professionalism, loyalty, trust, integrity, discipline and respect that will hold us to project a positive image of the force at all times,” Duale said.
Speaking during a brief handover ceremony by his predecessor Eugene Wamalwa, Duale said he will steer the implementation of the country's national security policies outlined in the strategic plan 2021-2030.
“I want to assure the President and the people of Kenya my commitment to achieving the duties and the responsibilities of this office,” Duale said.
Duale committed to having KDF work with other security forces and organs in the national administration to maintain peace and security in the country under the direction of the Commander-in-Chief.
“We will be ready and willing to collaborate with our regional allies to maintain peace and security within our neighbourhood and support readiness to work with our international partners and allies in maintaining global peace,” he said.
The CS said he will always consult and get counsel from the top leadership of KDF on handling key issues related to his mandate.
“I expect a smooth working relationship during my tenure as CS,” Duale said.
Duale said, during his tenure, the KDF shall assist and corporate with other authorities in situations of emergency and disaster “like what Kdf is doing during this time of the drought”.
“We shall deploy troops to restore order in any part of the country affected by unrest and instability and more fundamentally with the approval by the National Assembly,” the CS said.
Wamwalwa said Duale has the necessary capacity to steer the KDF to the next level saying his background in strong military relations will give him an upper hand.
“Duale is not new to me we worked together in the 10th parliament...he is lucky as he comes here because he is not new to the military... I want to wish him well,” Wamalwa said.
Duale becomes the 11th Defence minister in the country since independence.