Rwandan army boss decries conflict eating Africa up

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Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) Chief of Staff Gen. Mubarakh Muganga has noted the need for Africa to work together and address common challenges at regional and continental levels.

He says Africa has faced unconnected and complex challenges that vary across its region and countries, such as widespread poverty, conflicts, health crises and governance weaknesses.

He has also regretted the ongoing conflicts of civil wars in some countries and terrorism, which he says continue to destabilise many African countries, resulting in mass displacements.

While presenting a paper on the Pursuit of African solutions to African Problems (ASAP), the army boss, who was born a refugee in Uganda, said this was a result of displacement.

Commander Land Forces Lt. Gen. Kayanja Muhanga (C) speaking to Brig. Gen. Dr. Emmanuel Shillingi and Maj. Gen. George Igumba at Kimaka on Saturday. (Photo by Jackie Nambogga)

He made the remarks at the Senior Command and Staff College, Kimaka in Jinja City on May 10, 2025, where he told the student army officers how his parents and others had been victims of displacement for 30 years before he was born.

“This shows how conflicts can be disastrous in many ways and leads to mass displacements. People can pick some lessons far back,” he noted.

According to Muganga, Uganda has always been home to many refugees as it was hosting many Congolese, while on the other hand, Rwanda was also accommodating about 200,000 of those of the Rwanda-Congo origin for the past 26 years.

“Uganda has always been home for many refugees, some of whom have lived all their childhood and youthful lives as refugees as a result of displacements,” he noted.

To tackle ASAP, Muganga said this should involve sharing knowledge, resources and best practices as well as developing joint initiatives and strategies.

He added that it also requires investing in capacity building in the development of African expertise and institutions as crucial for African solutions and sustainable in the long term.

Muganga further said strengthening the education system, promoting research and innovation, including building the capacity of the local organisations and professions, were essential in ASAP.

Muganga, who was invited by Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba said they needed to take the lead in owning their problems by being responsible in fighting and implementing solutions, involving participation of all stakeholders, including governments, civil society, private sector and local communities.

“We Africans should take ownership of our problems and be responsible for finding and implementing solutions to envisage the tendency of external actors and ensure that solutions are widely supported, accepted, suitable and relevant,” he urged.

He noted that the solutions must be rooted in African traditions such as cultures, values and socioeconomic realities to ensure that they are appropriate and effective in addressing the specific challenges faced by the communities.

He observed the need to use the traditional conflict resolution mechanism, citing Rwanda’s Gacaca (traditional system of justice), where trusted members of the community are selected to preside over cases in public.

He said this was among the systems applied to address the massive backlog of the 1994 genocide.

“The public follows proceedings and in such trials, truth comes out without bribes as people are convicted to serve sentences and community work,” he said.

College commandant Maj. Gen. George Igumba briefed Muganga on the composition of the 52 students undergoing a joint military training with some drawn from Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan, Malawi and Uganda.

Maj. Sam Emoit, a student, said the lecture enhanced their understanding of the pursuit of ASAP using the multilateral and bilateral approaches using Rwanda’s intervention and its contributions to the locals on the continent.

He said they needed to be part of the conversation as they got significant lessons vital to their course curriculum.

Present was Commander Land Forces Lt. Gen. Kayanja Muhanga, who represented Kainerugaba; Brig. Gen. Dr. Emmanuel Shillingi Uganda’s defence attaché to Rwanda and his counterpart Col. Emmanuel Ruzindana, among others.