Prime
Mbabazi to head new African security outfit
Former prime minister Amama Mbabazi addresses a press conference in Kampala on February 16, 2022. PHOTO/ISAAC KASAMANI
What you need to know:
- He says the focus of the foundation will be on member states security, international affairs, and how to improve safety of the countries.
More than six years after his failed presidential bid, former prime minister Amama Mbabazi held his first media briefing announcing that he had been appointed to head a new regional security outfit.
Clad in a dark blue suit and holding a yellow microphone, Mr Mbabazi, who brushed off suggestions from journalists that he is aloof, said the Africa Global Security Foundation he has been tasked to lead would provide security briefings to member states through established organs.
This, he said, would help subscribers and members of the outfit make sense of the changes in the region and the world.
Mr Mbabazi said the primary focus of the Foundation will be on member states security, international affairs, and how to improve safety of the countries.
“This will hopefully contribute to the shaping of member states foreign and security policies in the increasing dynamic environment and help build a safer and more stable region and world,” he said.
In their renewed ties, Mr Mbabazi recently travelled with President Museveni to Congo Brazzaville and Senegal for meetings with several African heads of state and other regional players.
Mr Museveni has also appointed Mr Mbabazi as a presidential envoy to the Great Lakes Region (South Sudan and Ethiopia).
Several countries in Africa, including Djibouti, Mali, Madagascar and Guinea, Central African Republic (CAR), Burkina Faso and many others have been hit with attempted and successful coups.
Mr Mbabazi, who will be deputised by Mr Jean-Yves Ollivier, described as “a champion of backchannel diplomacy”, said he has the confidence of the leaders who currently subscribe to the organisation.
On his birthday in 2020, Mr Mbabazi tweeted: “I was overwhelmed by so much attention for my birthday today from friends from all over the world. HRH Michael of Kent, Patron & Jean-Yves Ollivier, Chair of the Brazzaville Foundation, & many other world luminaries made this day a special one to remember. Thank you, everyone,” he said.
While Mr Mbabazi feigned ignorance on the actual force behind his appointment, it appears his renewed relationship with Mr Museveni and his friendship with Mr Ollivier played a key role. From South Africa, Mozambique to Libya and other African countries, Mr Ollivier has a long documented history in African liberation movements and other efforts to bring peace on the African continent through his contacts.
He is most famous for his role in the Brazzaville Protocol in 1988 which ended South Africa and Cuba’s involvement in the Angolan war.
In their renewed ties, Mr Amama Mbabazi (right) recently travelled with President Museveni (centre) to Congo Brazzaville and Senegal for meetings with several African heads of state and other regional players. PHOTO/ PPU
The French businessman born in Algeria describes himself as someone who has dedicated an entire career to “influence diplomacy, using my personal relationships with heads of state and political leaders to facilitate peace mediations”.
On the latest cases of torture, Mr Mbabazi, who was not responding to any specifics, said: “Torture is not a civilised way of doing anything. It was used extensively during the Idi Amin’s time and we attributed that to their incapacity to do an effective job as a state and I believe the government of NRM and certainly NRM does not subscribe to torture. I have heard the government condemn it, and I think they should continue to do so and take strong and effective measures to stop it if it is happening because I am speaking theoretically,” he said.
Previous engagements
The former ruling NRM secretary general, who also led the security and defence dockets while still in government, said his pedigree in security is self-evident when challenged to explain why he was chosen for the job. He said he had received a greenlight.
Mr Mbabazi also chaired the regional political committee charged with overseeing implementation of the Lusaka peace agreement while serving as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in charge of regional cooperation. The Lusaka Agreement, involving Angola, DR Congo, Namibia, Uganda, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe, sought to bring an end to the hostilities within the territory of DRC in the late 1990s.
The 73-year-old was the first head of the External Security Organisation, a security outfit founded in 1986 to oversee foreign intelligence operations.
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