Somalia is a war-torn country, and Uganda sent troops to peace keep and have been there since 2007. However, because of political tensions, Uganda’s president, H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, threatened to withdraw his peacekeeping troops from serving under the auspices of the Africa Union.
The rising tension in Somalia is between tribal factions and various political groups, which has resulted in a misunderstanding among Somali leaders, which Uganda’s president described as unfortunate. Because of the political arguments, he warned he might decide to withdraw the troops.
“The issue in Somalia is when internal forces do not come up to shoulder their responsibilities. They are always against one another. If they did corporate, they have solved the situation,” H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni told France 24TV.
For example, a group of opposition from the council of presidential candidates (CPS) and supporters recently rejected the government’s plan for upcoming elections. The opposition leaders claimed that the involvement of regional leaders in selecting the elected delegates who will choose 275 members of parliament gave them too much power.
Opposition leader Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, stated that there is a need for a clear path towards the procedure of who will select delegates and who they will represent. This is because parliamentary polls are based on the 4.5 power formula (a plan for sharing power among dominant Somali clans).
H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni expressed his determination to withdraw troops from Somalia, saying, “I don’t believe in external military presence, I don’t.” But it must happen for a limited time; we wanted to withdraw, but some prevailed on us; we have to discuss with the African Union, but for us, we believe people should defend themselves.”
Uganda has threatened to withdraw its forces from Somalia before. In 2021, Uganda threatened to withdraw its peacekeeping troops from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Somalia. Following a United Nations (U.N.) Report, Uganda and Rwanda supported M23 rebels in a central African country.
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