Muhoozi Calls for New Financing Model as AUSSOM

Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces and Senior Presidential Advisor on Special Operations, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has called for new approaches to financing the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), warning that the mission’s growing financial constraints could undermine regional peace and security.

Speaking at the opening of the Extraordinary Meeting of Chiefs of Defence Forces from troop-contributing countries at Speke Resort Munyonyo, General Muhoozi said the Horn of Africa continues to face significant security threats that require sustained military and financial commitment.

His remarks come amid mounting uncertainty over the mission’s future following the United States’ formal notification of its intention to withdraw support for the United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS), at a time when AUSSOM is already grappling with a funding shortfall of more than 25 percent.

General Muhoozi urged his counterparts to provide clear strategic guidance on how to overcome the operational and financial challenges facing the mission and ensure that peace, security and stabilisation efforts in Somalia remain on course.

General Muhoozi is chairing the meeting of Chiefs of Defence Forces from the seven troop-contributing countries to AUSSOM—Burundi, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda. The meeting is laying the groundwork for Thursday’s Defence Ministers’ meeting ahead of Friday’s Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State, which is expected to consider recommendations on the future financing and sustainability of the African Union mission in Somalia.

Held under the theme “To Sustain the Stabilisation Process in Somalia,” the summit is expected to explore strategies to secure predictable and sustainable funding for the mission while strengthening regional cooperation against persistent security threats in Somalia.