{"id":56219,"date":"2025-11-10T19:17:59","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T19:17:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/africa-s-defence-leaders-convene-in-kigali-to-push-for-innovation-in-training\/"},"modified":"2025-11-12T13:31:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T13:31:15","slug":"africa-s-defence-leaders-convene-in-kigali-to-push-for-innovation-in-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/africa-s-defence-leaders-convene-in-kigali-to-push-for-innovation-in-training\/","title":{"rendered":"Africa\u2019s defence leaders convene in Kigali to push for innovation in training and education"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Hosted by the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) Command and Staff College, this year\u2019s conference, which kicked off on Monday, November 11, is being held under the theme \u201cThe Future of African Military Training and Education: Bridging the Digital Divide.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The three-day meeting brings together Commandants of African Command and Staff Colleges, senior defence representatives, and security experts from 24 nations to deliberate on how to harness technology and digital learning in building a more self-reliant and interoperable African defence architecture.<\/p>\n<p>In his opening remarks, Brigadier General Andrew Nyamvumba, Commandant of the RDF Command and Staff College, welcomed delegates to what he described as a gathering of Africa\u2019s \u201cintellectual and professional military leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis forum is more than a meeting of institutions; it is a convergence of Africa&#8217;s intellectual and professional military leadership,\u201d Brig Gen Nyamvumba said. \u201cIt is where ideas are exchanged, doctrines refined and partnerships strengthened in pursuit of interoperable regional and African standby forces for a more secure, resilient and self-reliant Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Highlighting the significance of this year\u2019s theme, Brig Gen Nyamvumba underscored the need to integrate digital tools and innovative methodologies into Africa\u2019s military education systems. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cOver the next three days, we shall deliberate on critical issues affecting our military education systems, from standardisation of curricula and exchange programmes to integrating technology and leveraging digital learning platforms,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>He also announced the handover of the ACoC chairmanship from the RDF Command and Staff College to the Tanzania People\u2019s Defence Force (TPDF) Command and Staff College, commending the forum\u2019s continued role in harmonising doctrines and training across the continent.<\/p>\n<p>Rwanda\u2019s Minister of Defence, Juvenal Marizamunda, officially opened the conference, commending ACoC\u2019s work in promoting unity of purpose among African military education institutions. He described the forum as a cornerstone in building Africa\u2019s collective defence capacity through shared learning and collaboration.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe threats facing Africa are multifaceted, from terrorism and cyber warfare to illegal migration, transnational crime and climate-related insecurity,\u201d Minister Marizamunda said. \u201cAddressing these requires a generation of officers who are not only tactically capable but also digitally literate, ethically grounded and strategically agile.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He lauded the RDF Command and Staff College for its \u201cexemplary stewardship\u201d as the current chair of ACoC, noting that Rwanda\u2019s leadership had strengthened cooperation among member institutions and prepared the ground for a smooth transition to Tanzania.<\/p>\n<p>Maj Gen Stephen Mnkande, Commandant of Tanzania\u2019s TPDF Command and Staff College, emphasised that education and training were the backbone of Africa\u2019s readiness to respond to emerging security threats under the African Union Peace and Security Architecture.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor the African Standby Force to remain ready, education and training are essential,\u201d he said. \u201cForums like the ACoC allow Commandants to harmonise doctrines and ensure that all our forces speak the same language when it comes to African Union operations. As the world moves fast into digitisation, we too must embrace technology in our training and preparedness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Air Commodore N. Maghidir of Libya\u2019s Command and Staff College, which hosted the previous edition of the conference in Tripoli, commended Rwanda for its hospitality and organisational excellence. He noted that such gatherings provide \u201ca very important opportunity for Africa\u2019s military academies to discuss complex security and strategic challenges\u201d facing the continent.<\/p>\n<p>The ACoC, established as a continental platform for Commandants of African Command and Staff Colleges, aims to enhance professional military education, promote harmonisation of training doctrines, and strengthen interoperability among member states.<\/p>\n<p>As discussions continue in Kigali, participants are expected to develop actionable recommendations to modernise military education, foster digital transformation, and build a new generation of African military leaders equipped to respond to both traditional and emerging security challenges.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-97479 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/1_2-15-81834.jpg\" alt=\"Officers from 24 countries are attending the conference.\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-97478 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/1_1-29-b448a.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-97477 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/1_3-10-05c07.jpg\" alt=\"Defence Minister Juvenal Marizamunda arrives for the conference.\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-97476 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/1_6-9-34a2d.jpg\" alt=\"Rwanda\u2019s Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Mubarakh Muganga, arrives for the conference.\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-97475 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/1_26-5-94c38.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-97474 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/1_25-6-3ba6e_1_.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-97473 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/1_44-2-d3a74.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-97472 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/1_16-6-9f33a_1_.jpg\" alt=\"The conference will run for three days.\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-97471 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/1_15-7-6a8cc.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-97470 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/1_70-5e5c3_1_.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-97469 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/1_13-10-4526a.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-97468 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/1_14-5-5a8a5.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-97467 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/1_34-5-bbe41_1_.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-97466 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/1_32-5-74460.jpg\" alt=\"In his opening remarks, Brigadier General Andrew Nyamvumba, Commandant of the RDF Command and Staff College, welcomed delegates to what he described as a gathering of Africa\u2019s \u201cintellectual and professional military leadership.\u201d\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-97480 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/1_31-5-0477f.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-97464 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/1_11-8-c0ce8_1_.jpg\" alt=\"Rwanda\u2019s Minister of Defence, Juvenal Marizamunda, officially opened the conference, commending ACoC\u2019s work in promoting unity of purpose among African military education institutions. \" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-97465 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/1_62-4-18d4c.jpg\" alt=\"Air Commodore N. Maghidir of Libya\u2019s Command and Staff College, which hosted the previous edition of the conference in Tripoli, commended Rwanda for its hospitality and organisational excellence.\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-97463 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/1_51-4cc6f.jpg\" alt=\"Maj Gen Stephen Mnkande, Commandant of Tanzania\u2019s TPDF Command and Staff College, emphasised that education and training were the backbone of Africa\u2019s readiness to respond to emerging security threats under the African Union Peace and Security Architecture.\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-97462 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/1_40-d7d69.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-97461 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/1_39-6ffff.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-97460 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/1_17-8-6d68e_1_.jpg\" alt=\"Military college commandants attending the ACoC 2025 conference.\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Senior military educators and defence leaders from across Africa have gathered in Kigali for the 19th African Conference of Commandants (ACoC), a high-level forum aimed at strengthening collaboration and innovation in military training and education across the continent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000097459,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-56219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000097459,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/1_26-5-f26fa-bc420.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/1_26-5-f26fa-bc420.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/1_26-5-f26fa-bc420.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/1_26-5-f26fa-bc420.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/1_26-5-f26fa-bc420.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/1_26-5-f26fa-bc420.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56219"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56219\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000097459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56219"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=56219"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=56219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}