Mudavadi Meets Museveni to Strengthen Kenya-Uganda Ties

Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Affairs Minister, Musalia Mudavadi, met Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on 20 November in Mayuge, Uganda, to reinforce bilateral relations and ease tensions over recent remarks on ocean access.

Mudavadi, accompanied by Kenya’s High Commissioner to Uganda, Joash Maangi, said the two governments remain aligned in promoting stability and shared interests. His office described the meeting as part of ongoing efforts to support a politically united and economically secure East Africa through closer cooperation. 

The statement added that Presidents William Ruto and Museveni intend to continue strengthening ties for the benefit of citizens in both countries. The talks followed concern over comments Museveni made earlier in November, when he argued that Uganda’s lack of direct access to the Indian Ocean places it at a strategic disadvantage. 

He suggested that landlocked countries face both economic and security challenges and warned that competition over access to maritime routes could lead to future conflict. Mudavadi later clarified that Kenya has consistently ensured safe passage for goods from neighbouring landlocked states and said the prospect of war was unfounded.

During the same visit, Museveni also renewed his call for an East African Federation with a strong joint military framework. He said combining defence capabilities across the region, including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, would strengthen collective security and help the region respond to external threats. 

He noted that such a federation could serve as a stabilising centre of influence for African states. Museveni’s proposal reflects wider concerns over Africa’s vulnerability to foreign intervention. He cited the 2011 collapse of Libya as an example of the continent’s limited ability to act collectively during crises and argued that deeper regional defence cooperation is necessary to prevent similar outcomes.