REPUBLIC OF MALAWI

ADDRESS
BY
HIS EXCELLENCY PROFESSOR
ESSOR PETER
MUTHARIKA
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC
OF MALAWI,
COMMANDER - IN - CHIEF OF THE MALAWI
DEFENCE FORCE
DURING
THE OFFICER CADETS COMMISSIONING
PARADE
AT
MAFCO, SALIMA
Friday, 11thDecember, 2015
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 Your Excellency the First Lady, Madame

Gertrude MUTHARIKA
Your Honour the Vice President, Right
Honourable Dr Saulos Claus Chilima;
All Cabinet Ministers here present.
Leaders of political parties here present;
Members of Parliament here present;
The Inspector General of Malawi Police
Services , Mr Lexton Kachama
Chief Commissioner of Prisons

 Senior

Officers,

Officers,

Men

and

Women of the Malawi Defence Force

and your spouses
Your

Excellences,

Members

of

the

Diplomatic Corp;
Senior Retired Officers here present
Distinguished guests
Newly commissioned Officers
Chief

Maganga

and

all

traditional

leaders;
Distinguished

guests,

Ladies

and

Gentlemen.

Show me Malawis coat of arms, and I will show you a nation

of conquerors. Show me the coat of arms, and I will show
you a heroic nation of determination and conquest.

Every time I see the lion, the leopard, and the eagle in our
coat of arms, I see symbols of a determined and conquering
nation. And it is this spirit of determination and conquest that
gathers us here today.

This commissioning ceremony, is a symbol of how 45 patriotic

Malawians sacrificed comfort, endured, persevered, and
marched to the last conquest of their goal. This is the spirit
that runs in the blood, bone and marrow of the Malawi
Defense Force. And I am proud to be your Commander inChief. I am proud to be with you all today. And every
Malawian is proud of you.

And to you who graduated with perseverance and

conquest, I say congratulations. In a special way, I
congratulate

the

female

cadets

who

successfully

accomplished the training and rose above the challenges to

the last triumphant march. I, as your Commander In-Chief,
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shall always ensure that deserving women in the military are

given all deserved opportunities.

These graduating cadets are part of a story of pride to tell. It

is a story of national excellence. Our Malawi Armed Forces
College is a centre of military excellence. I am pleased to
note that MAFCO continues to hold a special place in the
heart of training excellence since its establishment in
September

1979.

MAFCO,

you

are

the

makers

of

professionalism, discipline and dedication that characterizes

our army. The attendance of students from other countries
speaks more about your excellence in this part of the world.
Keep it up! And I also commend the staff of the college for
making the College deliver with your sense of patriotism,
integrity and hard work. Keep on marching to the heights of
better and higher excellence. There is always room for
improvement. After all, the biggest room in the world is the
room for self-improvement.

In the same spirit, I wish to urge you to obey all lawful orders
and stay committed to the service of the State. I also urge
you to preserve peace and maintain the good reputation
that the Malawi Defence Force is renowned for. Even the
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world is proud of your reputed discipline and professionalism.

This should be maintained at all times. Those of you
commissioned today, keep up the fire and spirit.

Apart from your core functions, you have been trained in

Peace Support Operations, Humanitarian Relief Operations,
Civil-Military

Relations

and

Conflict

Management

and

Resolutions. Times shall come when you will be deployed

anywhere beyond our borders. Be ambassadors of our
national pride. As Malawi, we have gone to preserve peace
in Rwanda, the DRC, Liberia, Burundi, Kosovo and more
recently Sudan. And we marched home in conquest with
glittering

medals

of

high

esteem.

The

international

community has always commended us. We must defend this

spirit of patriotism, keep up the flag of integrity, and march
on with the unrelenting force of hard work.

Let me also commend you for your heroic service when

disaster and tragedy struck our country. In short, you were at
your best during the last floods. That is the best patriotism I
have ever known. When chaos threatened us, you chose to
maintain order. And I know that you do not work with
commitment without challenges.
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As Malawi Defence Force, I am aware of the numerous

challenges you face on the frontline of duty. By the way, I
am the most informed citizen in this country. And I hear the
whispers of your worries. I know whatever is happening in the
barracks and camps. And I wish to assure you I shall do
everything possible to free you from your worries, and to
empower you to perform your duties better. This we shall do
for the sake the territorial integrity of our beloved country.
And this I shall do for your sake, because we value everyone
of you from the lowest to the highest rank.

And to everyone of you, let me say: let us march together,

rise together, for we shall fall together! And always
remember, we are a nation of conquerors made of
determination.

Thank you very much.

God bless you all!