SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY HON. UHURU KENYATTA, C.G.H.

, PRESIDENT AND COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF THE DEFENCE FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA DURING THE 53 RD PASSING-OUT PARADE OF ADMINISTRATION POLICE RECRUITS, ADMINISTRATION POLICE TRAINING COLLEGE, EMBAKASI, 17TH APRIL, 201

Fellow Kenyans, It is my privilege to preside over this passing out parade of our new recruits to the Administrative Police. More than 3,000 of you are oined today !y your families and friends to cele!rate the end of your demanding preparation. "our preparation as#ed much of you, !ecause your country as#s much of you. As I told your !rothers and sisters at Kigan o, law enforcement is no career for the fearful or the greedy. $e trust you to protect our property and our lives,with lethal force if necessary. $e as# you to ris# your lives in our defence. As if that were not enough, we also as# you to !e merciful and law%a!iding. "our responsi!ilities are heavy& their weight is made greater still !y the state of our country today, and our plans for the future. 'ome of our neigh!ours have fallen into civil con(ict. )heir trou!les did not stay at home& they crossed !orders, and !ecame ours. )he violent e*tremism we saw at $estgate continues to claim the lives of innocent Kenyans. )hough it pretends to !e religiously motivated, it is little more than criminal viciousness, and we will treat it as such + we will resist the temptation to ,ght a war of religion or ethnicity. )his nation was !uilt on the hard toil of ,fty years, and it will not !e divided !y the atrocities of fools and murderers. -ven !efore these trou!les visited us, we faced pro!lems of our own. )oo many of us are unsafe in our homes and !usinesses + crimes against person and property remain a pro!lem. )oo many of our children have fallen victim to dealers of drugs, trading the lives of our youth for pro,t. )he spread of small arms remains a pro!lem in our towns. .ur natural heritage is under attac#& the criminals who steal and sell it now use methods of unprecedented sophistication

and cruelty. )he challenges to our security are many. And it is not ust our safety, cohesion and prosperity in the here and now that is threatened, !ut also our future, for no country can !e prosperous and free if its people fear for their lives or property. $ho will start a !usiness, and employ our youth, if he #nows the fruit of his la!our will !e stolen/ $hat country will we have left if we allow these criminals to sow their hatred and division/ 0i#e every Kenyan, these truths are not lost to us. )hat is why our security is at the heart not ust of my government1s policy and !udgeting, !ut also at the core of our development planning in 2ision 3030. .ur plans will not !e fully achieved in one night, one year, or one term, !ut we no longer have thelu*ury of time to put our house in order. )hat is why my 4a!inet has already approved a large increase in funding for our security programs in the coming ,nancial year. $e will recruit and train at least 50,000 more o6cers. $e will procure police medical and life insurance !y the end of 7uly this year. $e have !ought, and will continue to ac8uire,modern weapons and e8uipment + perhaps the !est e*ample of these is the new command and control centre at 7ogoo 9ouse. Already, the new police%housing scheme at :uai has some complete units, and it will !e rolled out to every county in the repu!lic. Further programs will !e announced in due course %% meantime, we trust you to ma#e the most e6cient use of what is already availa!le to you. 0adies and ;entlemen, )oday, you graduate to oin your colleagues in the ,eld to defend the safety of our people and their property. "our tas# is heavy + I have already warned you of the dangers, e*plained what we e*pect of you, and said how we will help you achieve it.

<ut if the tas# is a heavy one, I have no dou!t that you are e8ual to it. "ou were carefully selected, for no nation can a=ord to entrust its security to those incapa!le or unwilling to !ear the !urden. .nce here, you were su! ected to the rigours of a new curriculum. )hat curriculum does not ust train you to !ear arms in our defence, or teach you to police your communities with the help of other Kenyans. It also instructed you in the law of the land, and inculcated in you the virtues and values that our new constitution demands of every Kenyan, and most especially those charged with protecting our common life. )hose values and virtues are your guiding star> if you hold them dear, you have nothing to fear, and you will serve your country with distinction. If you do not uphold these values + and particularly if you give in to corruption + then you will have failed your country, and shamed the friends and family who have come here to cele!rate with you. If that is not enough to deter you, then I will remind you of two things> ,rst, that corruption directly threatens the nation1s security& second, that those who threaten this nation1s safety will see that my government has a stern side. 0adies and ;entlemen, )hrough its long history, the service you are a!out to oin has seen many of its mem!ers serve with merit. 'ome of them su=ered, and others gave their lives for the safety and security of their countrymen. I remem!er and appreciate their gallant sacri,ce today, and I stand in solidarity with their loved ones. 0et me now wish you every success, !oth today and throughout the rest of your service. ;od !less you all. Mungu awa!ari#i na awalinde nyote.