KIGALI, Rwanda — September 26, 2026 — Rwanda has opened the inaugural course of the National Defence College–Rwanda (NDC-R), marking a new stage in the country’s development of advanced professional military education and strategic national security leadership.
Minister of Defence Juvenal Marizamunda officially opened NDC-R Course 1-26/27 at the college’s Bumbogo Campus on September 25. The inaugural program will run for 11 months and brings together a pioneer cohort supported by Senior Directing Staff and civilian faculty. The Ministry of Defence described the opening as an important development in Rwanda’s defence and security architecture.
The National Defence College–Rwanda is a constituent institution of the National Defence University–Rwanda. Its establishment followed a directive from President Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda and Commander-in-Chief of the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF), to develop strategic-level education for senior leaders. Rwanda’s April 2026 legal framework for the National Defence University formally identifies NDC-R among the university’s constituent institutions.
Addressing the inaugural cohort, Minister Marizamunda emphasized that senior strategic leadership requires knowledge extending beyond conventional military operations. Modern national security, he indicated, demands an understanding of national objectives and the ability to coordinate military capabilities with diplomatic, economic and informational instruments in support of national interests.
Marizamunda encouraged participants to approach their selection as a significant responsibility and challenged them to develop broad, critical and strategic thinking. He also called for serious intellectual engagement throughout the program, with the objective of developing the judgment and strategic vision expected of senior national security leaders.
The Minister further urged the college’s Senior Directing Staff and civilian faculty to maintain high professional and academic standards while encouraging research, innovation and rigorous analysis. According to the Ministry of Defence, Marizamunda characterized the college’s opening as more than the beginning of an academic program, describing it as a demonstration of Rwanda’s commitment to professional military education, national security and strategic leadership.
The establishment of NDC-R builds upon Rwanda’s broader investment in professional military education. In June 2026, President Kagame told graduates of the Senior Command and Staff Course that experienced officers completing advanced training should leave with “broader knowledge, sharper strategic awareness, and greater responsibility.” He also emphasized courage, sound judgment, integrity and continuous learning as important qualities for leadership in increasingly complex security environments.
Rwanda has also increasingly used professional military education as an avenue for international defence cooperation. Earlier this month, RDF Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Mubarakh Muganga welcomed the establishment of the National Defence University–Rwanda and NDC-R while expressing Rwanda’s readiness to receive officers from Botswana at the institutions as part of expanding military training cooperation.
The inaugural National Defence College course therefore represents both an institutional milestone and an expansion of Rwanda’s capacity to educate senior leaders at the strategic level. Its multidisciplinary approach reflects a broader understanding that contemporary security challenges increasingly require coordination among defence, diplomacy, economic policy, technology and other instruments of national power.
With its first cohort now beginning the 11-month program at Bumbogo, the National Defence College–Rwanda becomes another component of Rwanda’s long-term investment in professional military education, strategic leadership and national security capacity.
