President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has urged African countries to strengthen their economies, political cohesion and regional integration, saying these are critical foundations for national and continental security.
Museveni, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF), made the remarks while closing the inaugural Conference of African Defence Chiefs on Military Operations Other Than War at Speke Resort Munyonyo in Kampala on Thursday.
The four-day conference, which began on October 5, was hosted by Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Chief of Defence Forces and Senior Presidential Advisor for Special Operations, under the theme, “Strengthening Adaptive Noncombatant Military Response to Emerging Complex Security Threats in Africa.”
Addressing defence chiefs, intelligence chiefs and force commanders, Museveni said Africa could not effectively address emerging security threats without confronting the economic, political and geopolitical factors that determine the strength and stability of nations.
He posed three questions that he said African strategists must answer when developing their national security policies.
“Can you have a strong army and a strong and safe country without a strong economy? Can you have a strong defence force and a strong and safe country without cohesive politics? Finally, can you have a strong defence force and a strong and safe country without, in some cases, addressing the issue of geo-strategic location such as being landlocked?” he asked.
Museveni said the questions remained relevant even during peacetime because a country’s economic strength, political stability and strategic location directly influence its ability to defend itself.
Economic Strength and Wealth Creation
On the economy, Museveni said national security depended on a country’s capacity to generate wealth through the production of goods and services.
He said Uganda had identified four sectors in which citizens could create wealth: commercial agriculture, manufacturing and artisanship, services, and information and communications technology (ICT).
“In the case of Uganda, we have guided our people about the four sectors where wealth is found. These are commercial agriculture, manufacturing and artisanship, services and ICT,” he said.
However, Museveni said increasing production was not sufficient unless countries also secured markets for their goods and services.
He explained that communities producing similar products might have limited opportunities to trade among themselves, making wider domestic, regional and continental markets necessary.
“We discovered that people of the same tribe do not buy from one another many times. Why? Most of the time they are producing similar products. Hence A cannot buy from B and B cannot buy from A,” he said.
Museveni said consumers from other communities could help create demand for locally produced goods, linking economic prosperity to patriotism and national cohesion.
“The people from the other parts of Uganda come to the rescue of A and B by supporting their prosperity with their pockets, ensawo,” he said.
He said this understanding informed the first ideological principle of the National Resistance Army (NRA), the UPDF and the National Resistance Movement (NRM): patriotism.
“Love Uganda. Why? It is because, among many other reasons, you need Uganda for your prosperity,” Museveni said.
Pan-Africanism and a Common Market
Museveni said Uganda’s increasing production of sugar, milk, maize and industrial goods had demonstrated the limitations of relying solely on the domestic market.
He argued that African countries needed to integrate their markets to absorb growing production and provide businesses with wider opportunities.
Tracing the Pan-African movement to the founding of the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa in 1912, Museveni said African unity should be viewed as both a political aspiration and an economic necessity.
“Hence we were able to tell our people about Pan-Africanism, about the East African common market, the CFTA of the whole of Africa and, in some cases, the creation of political federations such as the one of East Africa where possible,” he said.
Museveni said a common African market would provide wealth creators with a larger and more reliable customer base, strengthening the economic foundations of African countries.
“The common market of Africa or in its regions would address the issue of the wealth creators’ prosperity by creating a huge and guaranteed market for them,” he said.
He questioned the value of political divisions based on tribal and religious identities when economic prosperity depended on consumers from different communities.
“If my tribemates are not able to support my prosperity by buying my goods and services, why do I not treasure the other Ugandans that buy my products?” he asked.
The President linked economic integration to continental defence, arguing that political federation could strengthen Africa’s collective ability to respond to security threats.
He cited the proposed East African Political Federation as a framework that could facilitate trade while enabling member states to coordinate their defence capabilities.
Museveni said a Federal Army of East Africa could potentially protect member states on land, at sea, in the air and in space.
“Uganda alone, even when it is a developed country, may not be able to play such a role. We do not even have access to the sea. Our brothers that are near the ocean may also have their own limitations. Together we can do the task more easily,” he said.
Private Sector and National Strategy
Museveni said African countries also needed clear policies on who should create wealth and how governments should support that process.
“If you do not answer this correctly,” he warned, “the economy will not grow sustainably.”
He said Uganda had identified the private sector as the principal engine of wealth creation, with government responsible for providing an enabling environment, infrastructure and security.
Using an analogy from the biblical Book of John, Museveni contrasted an owner with a hired shepherd to argue that people with a direct stake in an enterprise had a stronger incentive to protect and sustain it.
He said countries’ responses to questions of wealth creation, political cohesion and national strategy could shape their future.
Museveni warned that wrong policy choices could instead expose countries to instability and chaos.
Defence Forces Beyond Conventional Warfare
The President also highlighted the role of the UPDF and other defence institutions in supporting national development beyond conventional military operations.
He said the military contributed to infrastructure development, including roads, railways and stadia, as well as wealth creation through agriculture and manufacturing. He also cited occasional public health interventions and the construction of military barracks among the force’s responsibilities.
Museveni said the UPDF maintained its operational readiness through training during peacetime and argued that the cost and quality of some military construction projects should challenge civilian contractors to improve efficiency and workmanship.
He welcomed the delegates to Uganda and called on investors to support Africa’s growing production by investing in the continent and purchasing African-made products.
African Defence Chiefs Discuss Emerging Threats
The conference brought together defence chiefs from 18 countries, alongside commanders from the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
Participants discussed emerging security challenges, including cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, drones, peace support operations, climate change, disaster management, pandemics, border security and the protection of critical infrastructure.
The Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs, Kiryowa Kiwanuka, said it was an honour for Uganda to host the conference at a time when African countries faced increasingly complex security threats.
He commended Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba for convening a meeting focused on challenges extending beyond conventional warfare, including cyber threats and other non-traditional security risks.
“Our theme of ‘Strengthening Adaptive Noncombatant Military Response to Emerging Complex Security Threats in Africa’ is very important because it addresses the security threats that the region continues to face, hence timely,” Kiwanuka said.
He said the conference was intended to strengthen cooperation, information sharing and preparedness among African defence forces as they respond to evolving security challenges.
