WARFARE: General Okiding calls for enhanced intelligence-led operations

What the report says

Lt Gen Sam Okiding, Uganda’s Deputy Chief of Defence Forces, has urged African militaries to rely more on intelligence-led, coordinated and proactive operations as security threats increasingly extend beyond conventional warfare. According to The Independent Uganda, he made the remarks in Munyonyo, Kampala, during the opening of the Chiefs of Defence Intelligence and Security meeting, which was part of the inaugural African Chiefs of Defence Forces Conference on “Military Operations Other Than War.”

Okiding said modern security challenges require forces to respond to a wider set of threats, including terrorism, transnational organised crime, irregular migration, humanitarian emergencies and climate-related pressures. He also emphasized that resilience-building must be sustained over time and that militaries need to adjust their mindset, training and equipment to match the changing environment.

The publication reported that he called on African countries to adopt practical and systematic approaches and urged implementing agencies to turn the conference’s resolutions into concrete action. He said the meeting was intended not to introduce new ideas, but to reshape how African militaries think about operations other than war.

The session brought together defence leaders, African Union representatives and regional officials. The conference matters because it reflects a broader regional effort to strengthen cooperation and prepare armed forces for non-traditional security roles alongside standard military duties.