KAMPALA – Uganda’s First Deputy Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Rebecca Kadaga, has urged the Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF) to deepen regional cooperation and collective security, as shifting global threats outstrip any single nation’s capacity.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Kadaga, who is also the Minister of East African Community Affairs, made the remarks on Friday during the 36th Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers of Defence and Security of the Eastern Africa Standby Force in Kampala.
Uganda, as current EASF chair, hosts the 36th Policy Organs Meetings on regional peace, security, governance and operational readiness with its ten active members: Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan and the host, Uganda.
Rt. Hon. Kadaga noted that the Eastern Africa region faces a complex security landscape marked by armed conflicts, displacement, technological shifts, disrupted trade, and mounting humanitarian pressures, making unilateral action insufficient.
“Peace cannot stand alone; it needs co-leadership. I urge member states to invest in peace and security before crises grow. EASF shows our shared responsibility and has helped us respond to conflicts and support stability. Investing in peace is investing in Africa’s future,” Rt. Hon. Kadaga said
Uganda’s Defence Minister, Kiryowa Kiwanuka, challenged EASF member states to turn political pledges into tangible action amid rising violent extremism, maritime threats, cyber risks, humanitarian crises, and climate instability.
The Minister stressed the need to shift from mere readiness to rapid response, calling for stronger joint planning, information sharing, interoperability, and reliable funding.
“Our challenge today is to move from readiness to rapid response. We are confronting violent extremism, maritime insecurity, cyber threats, humanitarian crises and climate-related instability. I therefore challenge member states to translate political commitments into practical action so that EASF can strengthen its ability to respond rapidly when called upon,” said Minister Kiwanuka.
Kiwanuka urged nations to avoid duplicating facilities and instead specialise by leveraging existing regional centres of excellence in peace support, disaster management, and training.
He linked adequate resources directly to mission success, reminding members that readiness without resources remains empty rhetoric and mandates must be matched with money.
The EASF Director, Brigadier General Ronald Rwivanga, emphasized that the force’s future hinges on sustained political will and active guidance from member states, not merely on its structures or personnel.
He noted that shrinking international funding for African peace missions increasingly demands greater regional ownership in financing, sustaining, and independently managing operations.
“EASF’s effectiveness and future depend on sustained political support from member states. Institutions succeed not just through structures and people, but through political will. Your guidance will decide if EASF remains at its current level, or grows into a capable and trusted regional force that delivers for member states and the African Union,” said Brig. Gen. Rwivanga.
Rwivanga also challenged members to urgently reposition EASF for expanded responsibility, accelerating the shift from external support to genuine self-reliance when called upon by the African Union and its member states.
Among the attendees were Djibouti’s Minister of Defence, Omar Abdi Said; Rwanda’s Minister of Defence, Hon. Juvenal Marizamunda; Somalia’s Deputy Minister of Defence, H.E. Idris Osman Haji Ali; and senior military representatives from other member states.
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