The armed forces of the East African Community (EAC) member states have gathered in Rwanda for a planning meeting ahead of their upcoming Community Development Week.
This is the fifth edition of joint military and police civic activities across the EAC, set to take place from June 29 to July 4, 2025.
Aimed at strengthening collaboration between security institutions and citizens—particularly the military and police—Rwanda has an annual tradition of conducting citizen-support activities in various parts of the country.
This year, Rwanda will host the activities, after they were held in Tanzania last year. According to Colonel Désiré Migambi, these operations have consistently had a significant impact on improving the lives of local people.
This initiative, known as EAC CIMIC Week, involves military forces from across the region and is coordinated jointly.
Lt. Col. Joseph Kimani, the EAC joint military expert group representative, emphasized that the goal is to build bridges between the security forces and the communities, so that people see them not only as protectors but as development partners.
He said: “We aim to reach out to communities and bring development services closer to them. That way, they trust us more and view us as enablers of progress and integration within the East African Community. The closer we are to them, the easier it becomes to achieve our mission of regional unity.”
This special week of civic-military engagement will align with the ongoing deployment of joint EAC military and police forces in Rwanda, which started three months ago.
The EAC CIMIC Week will run from June 29 to July 4, coinciding with Rwanda’s celebration of the 31st anniversary of Liberation Day.
Five countries—Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, and Kenya—are expected to participate. Rwanda last hosted these activities in 2019.
