Rwanda has officially taken over the leadership of the East African Standby Forces (EASF) from Kenya during a weekend handover ceremony in Nairobi. The event brought together Ministers of Defense from the East African Community (EAC) and the Comoros.
Representing Rwanda at the 32nd Ministers of Defense of the Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF) Member States meeting were the Minister of Defense, Juvénal Marizamunda, and Major General Vincent Nyakarundi, the Army Chief of Staff (ACOS) of the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF). Ministers from Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, and Seychelles also participated.
After a one-year tenure, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary of Defense, Aden Bare Duale, handed over the leadership symbols and tools to the new incoming chairman, Minister Marizamunda. The ceremony included a short march-past ceremony, where the EASF and EAC flags were held high, accompanied by a band salute.
Duale expressed confidence in his successor, Minister Marizamunda, acknowledging the pleasure of serving the community despite current regional challenges. Minister Marizamunda pledged to work closely with member states, partners, and friends of EASF to promote a safer and more secure Eastern Africa region, emphasizing the collective efforts toward contributing to peace and stability on the African continent.
During the meeting, ministers adopted a resolution from the African Union (AU) on January 17, 2024, calling on Ethiopia and Somalia to refrain from actions and statements negatively impacting the strong bond and good neighborhood within the EAC community.
Colonel Jens Gynther Lindvig, the Defense Attaché of Denmark and chair of the Friends of EASF, also attended the meeting.
Preceding the Council of Ministers meeting were the Meeting of Chiefs of Defense Forces and Staff from January 25-26, 2024, and the EASF Experts Working Group from January 22-24, 2024. Discussions in these meetings focused on outstanding security situations in the region.
As a regional organization mandated to enhance peace and security in Eastern Africa, EASF consists of Military, Police, and Civilian components, ready for rapid deployment in peace support operations scenarios. EASF draws its membership from ten active Member States: Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
