“We had representatives from industry and commercial companies here as well to provide opportunities or ideas for various chiefs of defense,” Anderson said.

The said returnees are travelling aboard a special Uganda Airlines charter flight fully funded by the Government of Uganda, in what officials described as the first phase of a broader evacuation exercise.

Kirunda added that while in police detention, Twinamatsiko was allegedly subjected to acts of torture in form of harsh beating, knocking against the wall, neck strangulation, nose squeezing, stomach punching, head hitting by some police constables lasting for about 30 minutes, hence leaving him in serious pain with sustained bodily injuries on one of his eyes.

“If it was a matter of law enforcement, he would have been arrested by police. But the armed forces that went to arrest Erias Lukwago were members of the military, UPDF,” Fungaroo said.

Captain Reyes noted that the mission’s core aim is to enhance host nations’ ability to manage disasters independently while strengthening collective regional capacity.

In 2024 alone, at least 1,945 people were killed and 4,325 injured by landmines and explosive remnants of war, with the highest casualty levels recorded in Myanmar, Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Nigeria, Mali, Yemen, and Burkina Faso.

Turning to security, Museveni argued that Africa's future strength will depend on political unity, saying individual countries may not have the capacity to compete globally in areas such as space and maritime security.