Africa-Press – Rwanda. Defence experts from East African Community (EAC) partner states are meeting in Kigali to plan activities for the upcoming EAC Armed Forces Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) week which will be hosted in Rwanda.
The two-day meeting of the EAC Defence Experts Working Group (DEWG) convened military representatives from five partner states—Kenya, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda—to receive a briefing on the preparation of the CIMIC Week and to align with the host nation’s planned activities.
This comes ahead of the fifth edition of the CIMIC Week – which rotates among regional countries – scheduled from June 29 to July 4. The last day of the event coincides with Rwanda’s Liberation Day.
According to Col Désiré Migambi Mungamba who was representing Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) at the meeting, the goal of the meeting is to agree on a unified plan to ensure smooth and effective implementation of CIMIC activities.
Although the EAC currently has eight member states, Somalia, DR Congo, and South Sudan have not yet confirmed their participation in the initiative.
Col Mungamba said Rwanda has long conducted similar initiatives under the banner of “Army Week,” later rebranded as the Defence and Security Outreach Programme. This programme involves joint efforts by RDF and Rwanda National Police, working in close collaboration with citizens to foster trust and cooperation.
The activities, he indicated, cover a wide range of sectors, citing constructing homes for disaster victims and survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, conducting free medical outreach programme, and supporting people living in high-risk zones.
“These initiatives have made a good impact in people’s lives,” he said, observing that the regional CIMIC Week is an opportunity for EAC partner states to pool resources. The type of projects being considered—such as medical outreach, community work, and light construction—will mirror those already being implemented in Rwanda, he said.
“This is now a regional effort. The support from other countries will complement what we are already doing locally.”
Lt Col Joseph Kimani, the EAC Secretary General’s representative at the meeting who is also a Defence Liaison Officer from Kenya, underscored the importance of regional unity through community-focused military initiatives.
“The main reason we do these activities is just to bring our community, which as military we serve, closer. We know by working with the community, we can even eradicate most of the conflicts we face as a region,” said Kimani.
Kimani who also serves as the current Chair of the Defence Liaison Officers at the EAC Secretariat said: “The CIMIC activities are abroad, but this time we expect to do medical outreach, some light engineering work, and any other activity which the partner states are prepared for.
“And we are going to discuss which activities each partner state will do during the CIMIC week.”
Commitment to address problems triggering conflicts
The RDF Spokesperson, Brig Gen Ronald Rwivanga, said that the CIMIC Week reflects EAC’s vision of fostering stronger bonds between the armed forces and the civilian population.
“It is not only a military engagement. It is a humanitarian commitment and a powerful demonstration of our collective values of unity, solidarity, and service to the community,” he said.
Rwivanga stressed that real security lies primarily in the pursuit of human security solutions to societal problems that tend to trigger most conflicts on the African continent.
“From the spread of diseases and pandemics, the prevalence of hunger or absence of food, the sudden arrival of natural disasters as a result of our internal failures to protect our environment, the army must be at the forefront in implementing specific pragmatic initiatives by supporting communities in implementing national and regional programmes that improve the wellbeing and dignity of our peoples,” he stated.
“We are pleased that this year’s edition will be integrated into our national Defence and Security Citizen Outreach Programme 2025, expanding the scope and impact of the activities planned. This is a shared opportunity to deliver meaningful services to our people and demonstrate the value of regional defence collaboration.”
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