The Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF) has cleared Uganda's military, police and civilian capabilities for potential deployment in regional peace support operations after completing a three-day verification exercise in the country.
The verification assessed Uganda's readiness, equipment, force capabilities and ability to operate jointly with other regional forces under the EASF framework.
EASF Force Commander Brigadier General Stephen Maina Huria said the exercise had given the regional force assurance that Uganda had personnel and capabilities that could be rapidly deployed to support peace and stability in Eastern Africa.
"As a Force Commander, I am really satisfied with the preparation, capabilities and readiness of the troops," Huria said.
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The exercise was conducted at selected Ugandan security and training facilities, including the Uganda Police Force, the International Peace Support Operations Training Centre in Singo and the Uganda Rapid Deployment Capability (URDC) headquarters in Jinja.
Huria said the verification was carried out in accordance with Article 12(2)(f) of the agreement establishing the EASF, which requires member states' standby capabilities to be verified.
The assessment comes as regional security organisations continue to strengthen their capacity to respond quickly to conflicts and other crises requiring coordinated peace support operations.
Brigadier General Emmanuel Kazahura, commander of the Uganda Rapid Deployment Capability, said Uganda has developed a force capable of preparing, deploying, sustaining and recovering personnel for national, regional and continental peace support and crisis-response missions.
He said the URDC is expected to be capable of deploying forces for broader interventions within 90 days while retaining the ability to respond to urgent crises within 14 days.
"We have a force that is ready for whatever operation you want to do. The equipment is ready," Kazahura said.
Kazahura stressed that speed is critical when responding to emerging crises, warning that delayed intervention can allow instability to escalate beyond control.
"Response develops like a storm, and if you leave the after-effects to explode, you may not even be able to restore the situation," he said.
He cited Uganda's previous experience in crisis response, including deployments associated with the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, as an example of the need for timely intervention and coordinated regional action.
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The EASF said the verification was intended not only to establish whether Uganda has the required personnel and equipment, but also to assess interoperability and the country's ability to contribute effectively to joint regional operations.
The force is a regional security mechanism made up of nine member states: Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda.
