Rwanda Defence Force (RDF)’s Brig Gen Ronald Rwivanga has assumed the role of Director of the Eastern African Standby Force (EASF), a regional security organisation mandated to promote peace and stability across Eastern Africa. ALSO READ: RDF spokesperson outlines plan for National Defence University Rwivanga, who is also RDF spokesperson since December 2020, took over from Kenya's Brig Gen Paul Kahuria Njema, who had served for three years. The handover ceremony took place on Wednesday, May 20, in the Ugandan capital Kampala. The ceremony was presided over by Uganda’s Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs, Jacob Marksons Oboth, who also serves as Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of the EASF. The EASF is one of the five regional multidimensional forces under the African Standby Force (ASF), comprising military, police, and civilian components. It was established as a regional mechanism for the rapid deployment of forces to undertake preventive missions, rapid interventions, peace support and stability operations, as well as peace enforcement. It has 10 member states, namely Djibouti, Kenya, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Sudan, Djibouti, Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi. Njema, a former Commandant of the Kenya Prisons Hospital, served in the Kenya Defence Forces for 37 years. Until the handover ceremony, Rwivanga and Njema had been on a tour of some of the EASF member states, meeting with senior political and military leaders. ALSO READ: Gen. Rwivanga briefs Zambian students on African security solutions The EASF seeks to maintain a fully operational and integrated standby force capable of responding to emerging crises across the region. Rwivanga pledged to serve the organisation with transparency, professionalism, and accountability. He described his appointment as both an honour and a solemn duty to serve the region in advancing collective peace and security. He emphasised that the contemporary security environment in Africa continues to evolve rapidly, with emerging threats such as terrorism, violent extremism, cybercrime, unconstitutional changes of government, climate-induced disasters, and humanitarian crises. “We have committed ourselves as EASF that whenever there is a humanitarian issue or disaster, whether floods, droughts, earthquakes, diseases like Ebola, or displaced people, the force stands ready to support member states whenever such disasters strike,” he said. Before becoming RDF spokesperson, Rwivanga held several senior positions within the force, including Head of the Security and Intelligence Department in the Republican Guard, Close Protection Officer to the President of Rwanda, and Military Lecturer/Directing Staff at the RDF Command and Staff College, among other roles.
