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UPDF to host conference on operations other than war
The four-day conference, organised by the Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs and the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF), will be held at Speke Resort Munyonyo, Kampala, on the shores of Lake Victoria.
UPDF to host conference on operations other than war
By: Nelson Kiva, Journalist @New Vision
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The Defence Intelligence and Security (DIS) chief, Maj. Gen. Richard Otto, has held a meeting with defence attaches and military advisers in Kampala ahead of the conference on Military Operations Other Than War (MOOTW).
He said that the four-day conference, October 5-8, 2026, was conceived in response to a rapidly changing security environment.
At a meeting held at DIS headquarters at Mbuya in Kampala on Friday, October 2, 2026, Otto said modern militaries were increasingly being confronted by threats that went beyond conventional warfare, requiring countries to develop new capabilities and stronger cooperation.
“Rather than focusing exclusively on conventional warfare, militaries are increasingly confronted with complex transnational threats, internal conflicts and non-traditional security emergencies,” he said.
The four-day conference, organised by the Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs and the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF), will be held at Speke Resort Munyonyo, Kampala, on the shores of Lake Victoria.
Hosted by Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the Chief of Defence Forces and Senior Presidential Advisor for Special Operations, the guests at the Conference will include military chiefs of 14 countries, commanders of peace support missions on the continent, representatives from the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), and executives of regional political and economic community organisations.
Delegations that had confirmed participation by October 2 include Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
The UPDF's Directorate of Defence Public Information teams say that the conference will address emerging and non-traditional security challenges, including transnational threats, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. Other topics are unmanned aerial systems, peace-support operations, gender mainstreaming, climate change, disaster management, natural resources management, military support to civil authorities, maritime and border security, space and environmental security, critical infrastructure, pandemics, external influence, and legal and ethical accountability.
On Friday, while acknowledging the continued importance of conventional defence, Otto said African militaries were increasingly being called upon to respond to civilian emergencies such as natural disasters and technological crises.
He said this required military institutions to build expertise in digital defence, disaster response, humanitarian rescue and pandemic preparedness.
Otto also pointed to the cross-border nature of contemporary crises, saying many threats could move faster than existing regional mechanisms were able to respond.
Military involvement in civilian emergencies, he said had often been treated as a reactive, last-resort measure instead of a capability that was deliberately planned and institutionalised.
Delegations that had confirmed participation by October 2 include Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
The UPDF's Directorate of Defence Public Information teams say that the conference will address emerging and non-traditional security challenges, including transnational threats, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. Other topics are unmanned aerial systems, peace-support operations, gender mainstreaming, climate change, disaster management, natural resources management, military support to civil authorities, maritime and border security, space and environmental security, critical infrastructure, pandemics, external influence, and legal and ethical accountability.
On Friday, while acknowledging the continued importance of conventional defence, Otto said African militaries were increasingly being called upon to respond to civilian emergencies such as natural disasters and technological crises.
He said this required military institutions to build expertise in digital defence, disaster response, humanitarian rescue and pandemic preparedness.
Otto also pointed to the cross-border nature of contemporary crises, saying many threats could move faster than existing regional mechanisms were able to respond.
Military involvement in civilian emergencies, he said had often been treated as a reactive, last-resort measure instead of a capability that was deliberately planned and institutionalised.
The DIS chief said the absence of common national and regional doctrines on military operations other than war, inadequate standard operating procedures and limited coordination between military and civilian institutions had created difficulties in training, planning and equipment procurement.
He called for coordinated preparedness for conventional and non-conventional crises, arguing that Africa’s strategic autonomy depended on strengthening its own institutions.
“Africa must cultivate modern ways to enhance capability, capacity building, institutional resilience, further its operations and sustain its security frameworks independently,” Otto said.
He said Uganda therefore considered it necessary to host what he described as the first conference of its kind in Africa, providing a platform for institutional and regional reflection, dialogue and discussion on MOOTW.
“Uganda’s position on the key conference themes reflects its dual role as the host country and a nation with significant expertise in peace support operations, counter terrorism, counterinsurgency, border security, disaster response, and civil-military cooperation,” said Col. Chris Magezi, Acting Director, Defence Public Information.
He added: “The fundamental assertion is that Africa’s emerging security threats cannot be mitigated solely through military force, but through the employment of the whole-of-society and government approach.”
“Consequently, Uganda is committed to promoting an African, preventive, cooperative, and human-security-focused approach to Military Operations Other Than War (MOOTW),” Magezi said.
He called for coordinated preparedness for conventional and non-conventional crises, arguing that Africa’s strategic autonomy depended on strengthening its own institutions.
“Africa must cultivate modern ways to enhance capability, capacity building, institutional resilience, further its operations and sustain its security frameworks independently,” Otto said.
He said Uganda therefore considered it necessary to host what he described as the first conference of its kind in Africa, providing a platform for institutional and regional reflection, dialogue and discussion on MOOTW.
“Uganda’s position on the key conference themes reflects its dual role as the host country and a nation with significant expertise in peace support operations, counter terrorism, counterinsurgency, border security, disaster response, and civil-military cooperation,” said Col. Chris Magezi, Acting Director, Defence Public Information.
He added: “The fundamental assertion is that Africa’s emerging security threats cannot be mitigated solely through military force, but through the employment of the whole-of-society and government approach.”
“Consequently, Uganda is committed to promoting an African, preventive, cooperative, and human-security-focused approach to Military Operations Other Than War (MOOTW),” Magezi said.