Uganda’s spy chiefs visit regional intelligence gathering centre at Entebbe

A Ugandan delegation led by the Director General of the Internal Security Agency(ISO), Col. Charles Oluka has visited the Eastern Africa Fusion and Liaison Unit (EA-FLU) in Entebbe.

The EA-FLU is a regional intelligence gathering centre  whose mandate is to support and facilitate regional cooperation initiatives to curb terrorism and other transnational threats posed by organized criminals.

It has  10 countries that subscribe to it including Uganda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Tanzania.

On Tuesday, the Ugandan delegation visited to assess  the progress on operationalisation of the unit.

The Uganda delegation was also comprised of Brig Flavia Byekwaso (Defence Spokesperson), Amb. Charles Ssentongo (Chief of Protocol, Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Col. Herbert Nabimanya ( the Director Intelligence, Special Forces Command), Diplomats and other Senior Government officials from the Ministries of Presidency, Foreign Affairs, Defence, Security and Internal Affairs.

During the visit, the delegation was taken on a guided tour of the facility to appreciate the work that has been done since the unit's launch on in May 2018.

Col Charles Oluka expressed gratitude to the leadership of the Eastern Africa region for their strategic guidance that led to the set-up of the unit.

He noted that the unit was steadily building capacity to jointly assess the existing and emerging threats in the region and urged the team to undertake the tasks with a shared commitment to preventing further tragedies.

“Uganda as a host, is committed to supporting the full operationalisation of the unit in the broader strategic interest of strengthening regional cooperation on the common threats,”he said.

The unit coordinator, Dr. Tom Magambo Rwabudongo, reiterated the team's commitment to implement the unit's strategic objective of contributing towards a stable Eastern Africa region.

“We have built capacity to jointly assess the existing and emerging threats and we will continue to recommend intervention to decision makers on the common threats,” Dr.Magambo said.

Despite the challenges, he emphasised that steady progress has been made towards strengthening the sharing of intelligence on the common threats and that with sustained support, the unit's goals would be achieved.

The Eastern Africa Fusion and Liaison Unit  was formed after a resolution of the 455th African Union Peace and Security Council Summit that was held in September, 2014, in Nairobi, Kenya.

EA-FLU operates with the support and in collaboration with various strategic partners including the African Union (AU), the Committee of Intelligence and Security Services of Africa (CISSA), East African Community (EAC), and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

Other partners include; the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR/ICGLR-JICF), African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), Fusion and Liaison Unit-Sahel (UFL), and the African Center for Study and Research on Terrorism (ACSRT/CAERT).