- A high-level Ugandan military delegation led by Major General Francis Takirwa visited Kenya for a mission to measure standards with the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF).
- The team was welcomed by Brigadier Peter Limo at the Moi Air Base and visited DEFWES facilities, including the DEFWES Hall in Embakasi
- The visit came days after President Yoweri Museveni warned of a possible future war over access to the Indian Ocean
- Museveni’s remarks revived the debate about regional integration, with Uganda heavily dependent on Kenyan coastal ports
Army of Uganda has sent a high-level delegation to Nairobi for a benchmarking mission with the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF).
Source: Facebook
This message comes after President Yoweri Museveni warned of a possible war over access to the Indian Ocean.
A Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) delegation, led by the Deputy Commander of the Land Forces Major General Francis Takirwa, visited the headquarters of the Defense Force Welfare Services (DEFWES) at the Moi Air Base in Eastleigh.
What Uganda has come to learn from KDF
According to KDFthe team was welcomed by Brigadier Peter Limo, Executive Director of DEFWES.
Limo explained to the UPDF delegation Kenya’s holistic approach to military welfare, veteran care, and post-service support systems.
The visit aimed to strengthen bilateral cooperation between the two armies and promote exchange of ideas on welfare management, housing, health care, and education for soldiers and their families.
Major General Takirwa’s team also visited DEFWES facilities, including its warehouse and the DEFWES Store in Embakasiwhich supports military families.
Guests were also briefed on how KDF operates cooperatives, administers veterans’ welfare programs, and implements sustainable income-generating projects that benefit serving members and veterans.
During a courtesy call to the Commander of the Kenyan Air Force, Major General Bernard Waliaula, the Ugandan delegation was encouraged to identify patterns of action that could be replicated to improve the UPDF.
Takirwa of the UPDF commended the KDF for what he described as an innovative and organized welfare system, stressing that Uganda would take lessons from the visit.
“Thank you DEFWES officers for your time in making us understand your Defense Welfare Service, and by the end of this trip we will replicate the knowledge and embrace the visit again,” Takirwa said.
Why is the UPDF visit to Kenya important now?
Although the visit was formally organized as a technical exchange on welfare management, its timing will fuel regional interest as it comes after Museveni’s dire warning of future wars.
Museveni accused African coastal nations of unfairly denying landlocked nations like Uganda access to the Indian Ocean.
He compared the continent’s geography to a condom block, saying that all countries, regardless of location, should have equal rights to that common “compound”.
“How can you say that you are in a block of flats and that the compound is only for the rooms on the ground floor? The compound is for the whole block. Uganda is locked in here. But where is my sea? My sea is the Indian Ocean. It is mine,” Museveni said.
He painted the idea of exclusive ownership of the sea as madness, warning that such plans could lead to war in the future.
Source: Facebook
Museveni also complained that the lack of direct access to the sea in Uganda had hampered efforts to build a naval unit for defense and had limited economic growth.
The President of Uganda further explained the long-standing infrastructure disputes with Kenya regarding railways and pipelines connecting Uganda to the coast.
“The political organization in Africa is illogical. Some countries do not have access to the sea, not only for economic purposes but also for defense purposes. In the future we will have wars,” he warned.
Kenya’s coastal ports, especially Mombasa, serve as important gateways to Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
How did Kenya respond to Museveni’s threats?
As previously reported, the Kenyan government ignored Museveni’s claims of a future war on access to the Indian Ocean through the Port of Mombasa.
Korir Sing’Oei, Secretary General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Museveni’s comments were exemplary and confirmed Kenya’s respect for territorial and maritime rights.
Kenya emphasized its commitment to regional cooperation, peace and the rule of international law despite the tension between the two East African nations.
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Source: TUKO.co.ke
