President Paul Kagame, Commander-in-Chief of the Rwanda Defence Force, has told senior army officers graduating from a year-long military leadership course that with every step up in rank comes a heavier burden of judgment, and that the decisions they now make carry far-reaching consequences.

Presiding over the graduation at the Senior Command and Staff College in Nyakinama, Musanze District, Kagame addressed officers holding the rank of Major who had completed the programme, clearing the way for their promotion to the next rank.

He told the graduates that the course had sharpened their thinking and expanded their knowledge, but that this also came with greater responsibility, and greater responsibility, he said, demands greater restraint.

Officers must resist the temptation to act hastily, weighing every decision carefully, since each one can have serious ripple effects.

“As your responsibilities grow, so do the consequences of the decisions you make,” Kagame said.

He explained that a Major typically joins the senior command tasked with leading others, whether in peacetime or in war, and in both settings such officers must exercise sound judgment, both to protect the troops under their command and to safeguard the security of the institutions and citizens they serve.

This standard of disciplined judgment, he noted, has been a defining principle of the Rwandan army since its liberation struggle.

Kagame also thanked the families and friends of the graduates, saying their support had been instrumental in helping the officers reach this milestone.

The graduating class included officers from the RDF as well as from neighbouring and more distant countries.

The college, located in Muhoza Sector, has been led since September 2023 by Brigadier General Andrew Nyamvumba, who succeeded Colonel Jean Chrysostome Ngendahimana.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​