EASF Concludes Uganda Verification Exercise, Confirms Readiness For Regional Peace Operations

What the report says

The Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF) has finished a three-day verification exercise in Uganda to review the country’s pledged military, police and civilian capacities for peace support operations in the region, according to Watchdog Uganda. The assessment looked at readiness, interoperability, equipment and force capabilities tied to Uganda’s commitments to the EASF.

Verification activities took place at the Uganda Police Force, the International Peace Support Operations Training Centre in Singo, and the Uganda Rapid Deployment Capability headquarters in Jinja. EASF Force Commander Brigadier General Stephen Maina Huria said the review left him satisfied that Uganda has the ability to deploy quickly in support of peace and stability in Eastern Africa.

Ugandan officials said the exercise reflects the country’s wider rapid-response role under the regional framework. Brigadier General Emmanuel Kazahura, who heads the URDC, said the force is intended to prepare and sustain deployments for both regional and continental missions, with a stated goal of responding to urgent crises within days and broader operations within 90 days. Those figures were presented by the official cited in the report and should be read as operational targets rather than independently verified performance data.

The EASF is a nine-member regional security mechanism that includes Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda. The exercise underscores ongoing efforts to maintain standby peacekeeping capacity across the Horn and wider Eastern Africa.