Kenya has officially signed a comprehensive Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) with the Czech Republic.

The ceremony, held at the Defence Headquarters in Nairobi, marks the culmination of five years of bilateral negotiations and signals a new era of “capacity-building” for the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).

The agreement was signed by Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Defence, Soipan Tuya, and the Czech Republic’s Ambassador to Kenya, H.E. Nicol Adamcová.

The pact transitions the relationship between the two nations from informal diplomatic cordiality to structured military partnership.

Unlike traditional arms procurement deals that focus solely on the acquisition of hardware, this agreement prioritizes:

Doctrine and Training: Major General Fredrick Leuria, in charge of KDF Operations and Doctrine, witnessed the signing.

Special Forces Collaboration: Building on a history of informal cooperation since 2009, the new pact will facilitate deeper skills transfer between Czech military experts and KDF Special Forces.

Technical Education: The deal paves the way for the exchange of teaching personnel and students between military training institutions.

Kenya is seeking to phase out aging equipment.The Czech Republic renowned for its aviation (L-39 Albatros) and high-quality small arms is positioned as a key partner for modernization.

The agreement includes provisions for defence research and development, allowing Kenya to move toward local maintenance and potentially local assembly of defense technologies.

“Today’s signing establishes a formal and comprehensive framework to guide our defense collaboration,” stated CS Tuya.

“We stand ready to embark on the implementation upon ratification, guided by mutual trust.”

The DCA now awaits formal ratification by the Kenyan Parliament.