Gen. Charles Muriu Kahariri, Kenya’s chief of the defense forces, gave the opening remarks at the 2025 African Chiefs of Defense Conference in Nairobi on May 28. During the conference, senior military officials from across Africa discussed countering transnational threats, strengthening partnerships and sharing expertise. His remarks have been edited for length and clarity.
For those of us in the defense community, the African Chiefs of Defense Conference has come to represent far more than a conference. It is a forum that enables us to align strategic thinking, strengthen our collective posture and reinforce the unity that underpins continental security. Its growing relevance reflects a shared recognition that our security challenges and their solutions are interconnected.
Our presence here today reaffirms this shared vision, a vision of an Africa that is secure, that is resilient and confident in its ability to shape its own future. This year’s conference convenes when the regional and global security environment is becoming increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous.
Today our militaries have to contend with traditional and nontraditional threats, which are exacerbated by proliferation of technology. The prevailing security environment and easy access to sophisticated weapons has bred emboldened nonstate actors who actively challenge government forces through application of asymmetric strategies and tactics.
This has led to protracted conflict, making our region, and the globe at large, more insecure.
The contemporary security threats in Africa include internationalized internal armed conflicts, terrorism, cybersecurity threats and a myriad of maritime threats. They call for comprehensive strategies that address not only immediate threats but also the underlying political, economic and social factors contributing to instability across the continent.
In the prevailing circumstances, no single government agency nor state can effectively mitigate the threats because they are cross-cutting and transnational. Therefore, the theme of this conference, “Strengthening African Security, Sustaining Unity of Effort,” speaks directly to Africa’s current and future defense landscape. It brings into sharp focus key strategic imperatives that define our time and underscores the structural enablers of effective militaries, which include technological advancement, professional human capital, institutional partnerships in the form of multiagency operations, international partnerships, and thriving civil military relations.
These concepts reflect the lived realities of our respective nations and the aspirations of our peoples. They challenge us to evolve, to integrate more effectively across government institutions as well as between states and regions, and to ensure that our militaries remain guardians of territorial integrity, stability, dignity and progress of our peoples.
Although African countries have made efforts to develop their individual militaries, more needs to be done to integrate forces for effective joint bilateral and multilateral security operations so as to secure the continent at large. The key areas that need to be addressed include developing intelligence-sharing frameworks; standardization of training, equipment and operational doctrines; mobilization of resources to mitigate disparities and optimize capabilities; as well as developing comprehensive strategies to counter cyber threats and other emerging threats.
As co-host, the Kenya Defence Forces is deeply committed to supporting constructive engagement during this conference and beyond to address identified challenges.
We view this gathering as an opportunity to refine our common vision, renew our strategic partnerships and inspire innovations that will outlast this conference.
I therefore urge all of us to seize this opportunity to strengthen our shared resolve and elevate the role of our defense institutions in advancing peace, resilience and prosperity across Africa.