Category: News

Held under the theme “The Rise of Autonomous Systems: Implications for Defence and Security in Africa,” the discussion brought together more than 300 delegates from 50 countries to examine how artificial intelligence and autonomous systems are changing warfare, border security and national defence.

Opening the discussion, ISCA Executive Director Lt. Gen. (Rtd) Frank Mushyo Kamanzi noted that advances in artificial intelligence and autonomous aerial, maritime and ground systems are already reshaping warfare, border security, peace support operations and national defence.

He highlighted their potential to strengthen intelligence gathering, border surveillance, maritime security and protection of critical infrastructure, while raising concerns about human oversight, accountability and possible misuse by non-state actors.

“These questions demand collective leadership and cooperation,” Kamanzi maintained, urging African governments, regional organisations, research institutions, industry and international partners to develop policies and capabilities suited to the continent’s security priorities.

Rwanda’s Foreign Affairs Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe warned that artificial intelligence and autonomous systems are becoming increasingly accessible, including to non-state actors.

“Africa cannot afford to fall behind as these technologies continue to evolve,” Nduhungirehe cautioned.

He called for greater investment in African skills, institutions and technological capacity while stressing the implications of autonomous systems for sovereignty and strategic autonomy.

Mali’s experience

Mali’s Foreign Affairs Minister Abdoulaye Diop placed the debate within the broader question of sovereignty and Africa’s ability to provide for its own defence.

Mali, he noted, faces terrorism, separatism, inter-community conflicts and other threats across a territory of about 1.2 million square kilometres bordered by seven countries.

Diop explained that drones and other autonomous technologies have consequently become an increasingly important part of Mali’s security architecture. Mali, he indicated, had almost no drones five years ago but now has dozens, approaching hundreds, operated by Malian defence and security personnel.

He stressed that training and technology transfer are essential if African countries are to avoid replacing one form of dependence with another.

“It is a bit like cutting the logic of dependence,” he remarked, describing Mali’s efforts to strengthen its own defence capabilities.

Mali has incorporated training and technology transfer into defence agreements and established a national artificial intelligence centre where young people receive training for applications in defence, medicine, energy and other sectors.

But Diop also warned that autonomous technologies are increasingly available to terrorist groups, adding another layer to asymmetric threats.

“We are not only in an asymmetrical war, but the autonomous system also brings a level of asymmetry that competes with the state,” he observed.

From consumers to technology builders

Col. Patrick Nyirishema, Head of Defence Research and Development at the Rwanda Defence Force, argued that autonomous systems are changing the traditional understanding of military power.

“For centuries, military power was determined by who had more soldiers… But we’ve entered an era where machines can see. Machines can analyse. Machines can make decisions. And machines can act with diminishing human intervention,” he noted.

African countries now face a choice between remaining consumers of emerging technologies or investing in capabilities that allow them to shape them.

“The question is whether Africa can position itself so that this rise of autonomous systems and other related technologies and capabilities can be converted into a strategic advantage. Or whether it becomes a strategic vulnerability,” Nyirishema remarked.

He placed particular emphasis on talent.

“I think the starting point is talent. Build talent. Build talent,” he stressed, calling for national technology ecosystems in which young people can experiment, innovate and develop dual-use applications.

Such technologies, he noted, could support border surveillance, cross-border crime prevention, agriculture and other civilian activities in addition to defence.

Buratai praises Rwanda, urges African defence fund

Former Nigerian Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. (Rtd) Tukur Yusuf Buratai linked autonomous systems to the wider questions of governance, independence and indigenous technological capacity.

Buratai praised Rwanda for its leadership in advancing African defence and security solutions, recalling his participation in the country’s Armed Forces Commanders Conference the previous year.

“The Rwandan government has been in the forefront with projecting African defence and security solutions,” he noted, describing Rwanda’s approach as evidence of leadership and commitment to African security knowledge.

He argued that autonomous systems must be considered at the strategic level rather than simply as tactical military equipment, while emphasising the importance of indigenous technology and investment in Africa’s young innovators.

Buratai also called for a dedicated African defence fund to help the continent respond to existing and emerging security threats.

Funding, he maintained, has been a longstanding challenge for the African Union and regional organisations, with external financing sometimes influencing African security priorities.

He further linked security to governance and socio-economic development, noting from Nigeria’s experience that counter-insurgency efforts must be accompanied by measures addressing unemployment, education and other conditions that contribute to insecurity.

Technology must fit African realities

Moise Busogi, an Assistant Teaching Professor at CMU-Africa, cautioned that technologies developed elsewhere cannot automatically be expected to perform effectively in African environments.

“Many of these technologies are global, but usually the environment is very local,” Busogi noted.

Drawing from his work in computer vision, he explained that AI models can perform differently when moved from one environment to another, making local expertise and contextualisation essential.

He also encouraged African institutions to give locally developed technologies greater opportunities to mature, arguing that African innovation cannot grow if funding and confidence consistently favour foreign products.

Rethinking doctrine and strategic autonomy

Dr. Paul-Simon Handy, Regional Director for East Africa and Representative to the African Union at the Institute for Security Studies, argued that autonomous systems should not simply be inserted into existing military structures.

“Adopting this technology is not just a matter of automating existing doctrines,” Handy maintained. “Actually, we should rethink doctrines in light of this development.”

African states, he argued, need to identify the security problems they are trying to solve, determine which decisions can legitimately be delegated to machines and establish where meaningful human control must remain.

Handy also cautioned that countries should prepare to defend themselves against autonomous systems, not merely acquire them. A country that obtains drones without investing in counter-capabilities, he observed, may become more technologically equipped without necessarily becoming more secure.

He called for stronger regional cooperation, noting that no single African country can develop every component required for autonomous technologies. Strategic autonomy, he argued, does not mean manufacturing everything domestically but retaining sufficient knowledge, capacity and political freedom to understand and sustain critical systems.

Autonomy cannot simply be bought

Col. (Rtd) David Kanamugire, CEO of Rwanda’s National Cyber Security Authority, warned against treating autonomous capability as a procurement exercise.

“We can’t look at autonomy as a procurement problem. You can’t buy autonomy. That’s not possible,” Kanamugire stressed.

He identified data, computing power, talent and adaptable institutions as the foundations of genuine autonomous capability. Countries, he argued, need the ability to control and understand the wider technology stack, including sensors, communications and protection against cyber and electronic threats.

The discussions underscored that autonomous systems present Africa with both an opportunity and a growing security challenge. While they could strengthen surveillance, intelligence, border management, agriculture and other civilian services, they are also becoming accessible to non-state actors.

For the panellists, the central question is no longer whether autonomous technologies will transform African security, but whether African states will develop the talent, institutions, infrastructure and strategic cooperation required to shape that transformation on their own terms.

RIB spokesperson Dr. Thierry B. Murangira confirmed to IGIHE that Shema was arrested on Tuesday, August 11, 2026.

He is currently being held at the RIB station in Kicukiro as investigations continue before his case file is submitted to the National Public Prosecution Authority.

Shema was elected FERWAFA president on August 30, 2025, alongside members of his executive committee during the federation’s General Assembly. The team campaigned under the slogan “Dream Team.”

After taking office, the former AS Kigali president unveiled an agenda aimed at reforming Rwandan football, with priorities including the development of women’s football, youth football, sports infrastructure, and other areas of the game.

Although he serves as president of FERWAFA, Shema has not been receiving a salary. Instead, he pledged to donate the $200,000 he would have earned over his four-year term to support youth talent development.

Before taking over the leadership of FERWAFA, Shema spent six years as president of AS Kigali, helping guide the club to several major trophies, including the 2019 and 2022 Peace Cup titles and the 2022 Super Cup.

In a statement issued on Saturday, AFC/M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka said the release of the 15 detainees, facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), was “encouraging” but “insufficient” because many people it says were arrested over alleged links to the movement remain in detention.

The 15 detainees were handed over to AFC/M23 in Bunagana on August 7 after travelling from Beni through Uganda in an operation facilitated by the ICRC under the Doha peace process.

According to the movement, nine of the released individuals were among a list of 768 detainees it had previously submitted to mediators for release. It said the remaining six included one Ugandan national with no links to the group and five Congolese citizens who were not on its original list, arguing that this showed the list was not exhaustive and that more people remained in custody.

AFC/M23 accused Kinshasa of continuing to arrest Congolese citizens on allegations of links to the movement and called for the immediate release of all detainees covered by the prisoner release protocol.

The group also urged the DRC government to publish a complete and updated list of detainees still awaiting release and provide a clear timetable for their release.

The movement further revealed that it has, for nearly a year, made several thousand captured members of the Congolese armed forces (FARDC) and allied Wazalendo fighters available to the ICRC for transfer to Kinshasa, but the government has refused to receive them. It said this could be used to delay or prevent the release of detainees held by the government.

“The AFC-M23 is concerned that the Kinshasa regime’s refusal to receive its own soldiers could be used as a pretext to delay or prevent the release of our compatriots who are being unlawfully detained, while continuing to arrest other Congolese citizens on allegations that they are associated with or acting in concert with our Organisation,” reads the statement.

Despite accusing Kinshasa of failing to honour its commitments, AFC/M23 said it remains committed to the Doha peace process and urged the DRC government to fully implement both the ceasefire agreement and the prisoner release protocol.

The statement came a day after the ICRC confirmed it had facilitated the transfer of the 15 detainees between August 6 and 7 at the request of both parties under the Doha Mechanism signed in September 2025.

According to the ICRC, the detainees voluntarily agreed to the transfer and travelled from Beni through Uganda before being handed over to AFC/M23 in Rutshuru Territory. The humanitarian organisation expressed hope that the operation would pave the way for additional detainee releases and help reunite more families separated by the conflict.

Makolo made the remarks during an interview with Royal FM on Thursday, following reports that Italy is exploring partnerships with several African countries as part of a broader European strategy to manage irregular migration.

“There is no agreement yet. We’re still in discussion,” Makolo said, adding that one of the key ideas under consideration is building on Rwanda’s existing Emergency Transit Mechanism (ETM) in Gashora.

The ETM, established in 2019 in partnership with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), temporarily hosts vulnerable asylum seekers and refugees evacuated from Libya while their cases are processed for voluntary return to their home countries or resettlement elsewhere.

Makolo explained that the discussions focus on providing a safe place for people fleeing conflict or persecution.

“One of the ideas that we’re discussing is around the Emergency Transit Mechanism that we have in Gashora, a safe place for families who are stranded, who have nowhere else to go, who are in danger for various reasons,” she revealed.

Asylum seekers hosted under the arrangement receive medical care, psychosocial support and skills training while awaiting decisions on their future.

According to Makolo, Rwanda’s willingness to engage in migration partnerships is rooted in its own history of displacement and refugee return.

“Rwanda has always been involved in migration in many ways,” she said, pointing to the country’s own history of displacement and return following the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. “Because of that experience, we’re also a welcoming country. We understand people who have had to run away with nothing and then come back and rebuild their lives.”

She pointed to Rwanda’s longstanding refugee policy, noting that the country currently hosts more than 100,000 refugees, mainly from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi, who are allowed to work, access healthcare and integrate into communities while under protection.

Makolo said Rwanda has worked with international organisations for decades to provide protection to people forced to flee their homes, and sees migration cooperation as part of its contribution to addressing a global challenge.

“Irregular migration is a global problem, and Rwanda has always done our part as a member of the international community,” she noted.

She added that the Gashora programme has already demonstrated its effectiveness.

“We’ve had thousands of those come in, and a lot of them have left, have been resettled to third countries, and that has worked really well. It has saved a lot of lives, a lot of families, and we can do more of this.”

While acknowledging that migration partnerships often attract criticism, Makolo defended Rwanda’s continued engagement on the issue.

“There will always be criticism,” she said. “But we know that we’re doing this for the right reasons. We want to be part of the global solution to a big problem.”

She argued that Rwanda’s previous migration partnership with the United Kingdom, which was cancelled after the new British government scrapped the policy, was fundamentally about providing protection and opportunities for people in need.

“There’s nothing wrong with giving people a home and ensuring that there are resources provided so people can rebuild their lives,” Makolo reiterated.

Makolo also stressed that Rwanda wants to help reduce the dangers faced by African migrants undertaking perilous journeys through the Sahara Desert and across the Mediterranean Sea.

“We don’t want Africans making dangerous journeys across the desert and dying in the Mediterranean,” she remarked. “We want young Africans to be happy to live in their continent, and to contribute to building this continent together.”

According to Italian reports published on August 4, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government is seeking to establish pilot migrant return hubs in third countries as part of a wider European strategy to improve the management of irregular migration.

Italy has indicated that Rwanda is among three African countries, alongside Uganda and Ghana, under consideration for pilot return centres that would be jointly managed by European countries and funded by the European Union.

In a statement issued on Wednesday evening, the Ministry in charge of Emergency Management (MINEMA) said the latest group, the 24th to arrive under the programme, was received in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The group comprises 68 Sudanese, 66 Eritreans, 26 South Sudanese, 15 Ethiopians and two Somalis.

According to the ministry, the asylum seekers will be accommodated at the Gashora Transit Centre in Bugesera District, which hosts other evacuees who previously arrived in Rwanda under the humanitarian initiative.

The Emergency Transit Mechanism was established in September 2019 through a partnership between the Government of Rwanda, UNHCR and the African Union to provide temporary protection to vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers evacuated from Libya while durable solutions, including resettlement, are pursued.

MINEMA said that since the programme began, Rwanda has received more than 3,000 refugees and asylum seekers from Libya.

Of these, 2,681 have been successfully resettled in third countries, including Canada (927), France (332), the United States (325), Sweden (297), Finland (271), Norway (229), Germany (132), the Netherlands (94) and Belgium (72).

The ministry reaffirmed Rwanda’s commitment to providing protection to people fleeing conflict and persecution, saying the country remains committed to offering refuge to people in need.