President Yoweri Museveni has pledged to rally East African leaders behind efforts to strengthen the Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF), including reviving a regional summit that has not been held since 2014.
Museveni, who is the current Chairperson of the East African Community (EAC), made the commitment during a meeting with Brigadier General Ronald Rwivanga, Director of the EASF, at State House, Entebbe.
Rwivanga briefed the President on the force’s activities and asked him to use his regional influence to mobilise Heads of State and Government to give the EASF stronger political and financial support.
The EASF is a regional peace and security mechanism made up of military, police and civilian components. It was established in 2004 under the wider African Union standby force framework to provide a coordinated and rapid response to conflicts, humanitarian emergencies and other security crises in Eastern Africa.
Rwivanga also asked Museveni to encourage Djibouti, Comoros and Sudan to fully participate in the force and to help mobilise regional leaders for the EASF Summit, which has not convened for more than a decade.
The summit, according to the EASF leadership, would allow member states to renew their political commitment, provide strategic direction and address challenges affecting the force’s membership, financing and operational capacity.
Museveni pledged to engage his fellow regional leaders and support efforts to convene the summit.
He also promised to support measures aimed at improving the EASF’s financial capacity, particularly in areas such as humanitarian assistance, rescue operations, rapid deployment and emergency response.
The President’s meeting with the EASF leadership comes as Kampala hosts the 36th Ordinary Policy Organs Meeting of the Eastern Africa Standby Force from August 10 to 15.
The meeting has brought together senior officials and representatives from member states to discuss the force’s operational readiness and future role in regional peace and security.
Rwivanga also briefed Museveni on Uganda’s contribution to the force, including a recent three-day verification exercise that assessed the country’s military, police and civilian capabilities pledged to the EASF.
The exercise examined Uganda’s readiness, interoperability, personnel, equipment and capacity for rapid deployment in support of regional peace operations. It was conducted at the Uganda Police Force, the International Peace Support Operations Training Centre in Singo and the Uganda Rapid Deployment Capability headquarters in Jinja.
The renewed push comes amid calls for Eastern African countries to strengthen regional self-reliance in responding to emerging security threats.
Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has separately called for greater regional military independence, warning that changing conflicts, extremist threats and sophisticated illicit networks require stronger preparedness and cooperation among EASF member states.
Museveni’s intervention could give fresh political momentum to efforts to revive the EASF summit and strengthen the regional force’s ability to respond to security and humanitarian crises.
