Nineteen participants from Tanzania’s National Defence College (NDC) arrived in Uganda today for a field training exercise designed to broaden their knowledge of national security and strategic studies. The Tanzanian delegation was hosted at the Chieftaincy of Defence Intelligence and Security (CDIS) in Mbuya, Kampala.
The group, drawn from NDC Tanzania Course Intake 14, 2025/26, comprises one officer from Zambia, one from the South African Defence Forces, one from Namibia, one from the Sierra Leone Armed Forces, two from Zanzibar, and the remainder from the Tanzania Peoples’ Defence Forces (TPDF).
The 47-week course has 72 participants in total: 50 from the TPDF and 22 from allied countries of Uganda, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Madagascar. The NDC develops and mentors national leaders by teaching them to think strategically about national security, so they can make effective policy at the highest levels of government.
Speaking on behalf of the Chief of Defence Forces, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the Chief Joint Staff, Lt Gen Jack Agonza Bakasumba, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for choosing Uganda. “Because it’s the Pearl of Africa, as from Churchill,” he said.
Lt Gen Bakasumba described the TPDF as a historic force to Uganda since independence. He traced the evolution of Uganda’s military from the Uganda Army in 1962, through the Uganda National Liberation Army and the National Resistance Army, to the current Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) following the 1995 constitutional review.
“UPDF has built enough capacity to train their own right from the basics to protect the country,” he said. Although a young army, he added, the UPDF is performing well in the operational theatre. We are exporting peace to other countries like Somalia and yet they are far away from us and we don’t share borders,” he said.
“The peace exported to DRC and South Sudan are on request from President Felix Tshisekedi of DRC and President Salva Kiir of South Sudan, and on the political will of President Museveni’s leadership,” he stressed.
He underscored pan-Africanism as vital to strengthening bilateral ties against external aggressors. “We have done a lot with whatever resources we have as a country. We currently have about two million refugees, mainly from South Sudan and DRC, and they are sharing same social services with us. We protect these regimes because when they collapse, we collapse with them,” he added.
Lt Gen Bakasumba noted that Tanzania helped Uganda liberate itself from Iddi Amin, and that the TPDF recently worked with the UPDF to arrest ADF leader Jamil Mukulu, now on trial. He added that some UPDF soldiers trained in Tanzania, and Uganda in turn trains troops from Central African Republic and Somalia free of charge, showcasing Pan Africanism.
“Some of us are beneficiaries of TPDF training,” he said.
He concluded: “African problems need African solutions,” adding that with “political will, everything is possible to achieve full EAC integration.” The Head of Delegation and Senior Directing Staff of the Navy, Commodore Baganchwera Transeas Rutambuka, thanked UPDF for its cordial welcome. He said Course 14 helps senior officers develop practical recommendations and solutions to African problems, and equips them with defence policies to understand complex national security and strategy.
He stressed that security challenges are multi-dimensional and multi-faceted, requiring input from sectors including the economy, environment, gender, technology and agriculture. “A nation seeking to be secure must utilise all resources, both externally and internally,” he said.
He looked forward to strengthening Uganda–Tanzania diplomatic ties rooted in shared liberation history. The theme for Course 14 is “Harnessing Natural Wealth for Sustainable Growth: Balancing Oil, Agriculture and Ecotourism.”
A CDIS presentation noted that Uganda is peaceful, stable and committed to regional integration, and applauded its strategic relationship with Tanzania. It reaffirmed commitment to frameworks that strengthen EAC integration.
Persistent threats to Uganda according to today’s presentation include terrorism from the ADF in eastern DRC, cybercrime, refugee influx from South Sudan and DRC, small arms proliferation, cross-border crime, environmental degradation, money laundering, illicit trade, and the youth bulge —( 77 per cent of Ugandans are youth) among others.
Challenges remain in infrastructural development, trade barriers, economic inequalities, and sovereignty and security framework issues.
Both countries agreed to continue pursuing regional integration as a prerequisite for stability, security and prosperity. “No single country can maximise benefits alone. We all need each other through regional integration to maximise benefits of integration,” said Col Nelson Aheebwa, Deputy Joint Staff Political Commissariat as he delivered a lecture on geopolitics.
The delegations exchanged mementos to mark the occasion. Potential areas for future cooperation include defence intelligence exchange, combating climate change, regional disaster response, and aviation security information.
Col Fredrick F Milanzi on behalf of the Commandant of the NDC -Tanzania noted that the tour will reinforce their understanding of Uganda’s national security, strategy and geopolitics, adding that the day’s learning is in conformity with what they learn at NDC – Tanzania
Also present were Joint Staff Human Resource Management, Maj Gen James Kinalwa; Joint Staff Finance, Brig Gen Robert Mugabe; and Joint Staff Training and Doctrine, Brig Gen Wycliffe Keita, among other UPDF Senior Officers. The Tanzanian delegation included Defence Attaché to Uganda, Brig Gen F. Joseph Machua; Col Furuhini Eliaskia Kidafuri; Col David Erick Mziray; Lt Col Albert Frederick Monyo; and Dr Godfrey Emiliano Sansa, among others.