Kinshasa, August 20th, 2026 (CPA). – President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has set out five (5) key priorities for the College of Higher Studies in Strategy and Defence (CHESD) for its second decade, during the ceremony marking the institution’s tenth anniversary of this institution held on Thursday in Kinshasa. “The CHESD must strengthen strategic research, contribute to the development of our national defence and security doctrine, produce benchmark studies and provide decision-makers with rigorous, objective and immediately actionable analyses,” has declared Felix Tshisekedi, President of DRC. “Thinking for ourselves is the first prerequisite for deciding freely and acting sovereignly,” he has added, before placing anticipation amongst the priority areas, whilst emphasising that the College must strengthen its capacity for strategic monitoring and foresight, notably through data management, scenario analysis, crisis simulation and early warning. The digital and informational sovereignty, as well as African openness and regional cooperation, are also among the priorities assigned to the CHESD, which is called upon to consolidate its role in training decision-makers and producing strategic knowledge.
Diplomas of Merit awarded to 1,692 graduates
President Ndayishimiye
The ceremony has also featured the presentation of Diplomas of Merit to 1,692 graduates from various cohorts of the CHESD and from the Higher School of Military Administration (ESAM). These diplomas have been presented, in turn, by Presidents Felix Tshisekedi and Evariste Ndayishimiye, as well as by representatives of the Heads of State of the Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic. For the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of National Defence and Veterans’ Affairs, Guy Kabombo, this commemoration represents both a moment of reflection and a new phase for this institution. “Ten years after its establishment, the CHESD can look back on its journey with pride and towards its future with ambition,” he has declared. He has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to strengthening the institution’s assets so that it may continue to serve as “a centre of excellence, foresight and knowledge production in the service of national defence and security”.
Ten years of strategic training
Group photograph
Furthermore, the General Director of the CHESD, the Major-General Augustin Mamba, has presented a review of a decade devoted to institutional development, the training of elites and the development of strategic thinking. “Ten years have passed: ten years of institutional development, ten years devoted to training elites, ten years of reflection, research and the development of strategic thinking,” he has declared. Established in 2016, the CHESD had the ambition of providing DRC and the African continent with a high-level training framework dedicated to strategic thinking and the preparation of decision-makers. According to its General Director, the institution has gradually established itself as a training and research body with a national, regional and international remit, tasked in particular with helping decision-makers to understand the changes in their environment, anticipate risks and inform public policy decisions.
Persistent security challenges
Speaking on behalf of the Themis Institute, a partner of the CHESD, General Gilles Rouby has emphasised the need for this mission to continue in light of the on-going insecurity in the east of DRC and the international tensions that could have consequences for the African continent. “The situation in the east of the country demands this on a daily basis, and also because growing insecurity now prevails all around the African continent,” he has declared. He has estimated that the training provided at the CHESD over the past ten years has focused on developing the strategic military and security skills necessary for conducting operations. The ceremony has been co-chaired by the Congolese Head of State and his Burundian counterpart, Evariste Ndayishimiye, the current Chairperson of the African Union. Presidents Denis Sassou-Nguesso of the Republic of the Congo and Faustin-Archange of the Central African Republic have been represented by their Ministers in charge of Defence.