Uganda has boosted its disaster preparedness capacity after delegates from civil and military institutions completed a week-long training in Civil-Military Coordination for Disaster Relief, held at Paradise Hotel on the Nile from 8 to 12 September 2025. Facilitated by the United States Institute for Security Governance, the course officially concluded on 12 September with participants…
The Civil-Military Coordination in Disaster Relief course officially commenced today, 8 September 2025, at Hotel Paradise in Jinja, Uganda. Brigadier General Ernest Nuwagaba, Commandant of the Uganda Rapid Deployment Capability (URDC) under the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF), presided over the opening ceremony. Brig Gen Nuwagaba thanked the Institute for Security Governance (ISG) and the…
Final preparations for Command Post Exercise, Okoa Maisha 2025, Uganda’s national emergency response simulation, have been completed following the conclusion of the Final Planning Conference at the Headquarter Uganda Rapid Deployment Capability in Jinja. The is slated to run from 3 to 14 August 2025. The exercise aims to reinforce Uganda’s national readiness to respond…
The Final Planning Conference (FPC) for the highly anticipated Command Post Exercise (CPX) OKOA MAISHA has officially begun at the Uganda Rapid Deployment Capability (HQ URDC) headquarters in Jinja. Spanning three days, the conference was formally opened by Brigadier General Earnest Nuwagaba, Commander of HQ URDC and Director of the Exercise. Addressing participants, Brig Gen…
Preparations are in full swing for “Okoa Maisha” (Swahili for Save Life), a major Command Post Exercise focused on disaster response operations in Uganda’s landslide-prone Bulambuli District. The planning phase officially began with a high-level conference held at the Headquarters of the Uganda Rapid Deployment Capability (HQ URDC) in Gaddafi Barracks, Jinja. The exercise is…
The week-long disaster response and management exercise, code-named “OKOA MAISHA,” has today concluded at the Uganda Rapid Deployment Capability Headquarters in Jinja. On behalf of the Prime Minister, Rt Hon. Robinah and the Chief of Defence Forces, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Major General Bob Ogiki, commended the facilitators, participants, and experts for their contributions in sharing…
The Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces has today commenced a disaster response and management exercise (Table-Top Exercise), code-named “OKOA MAISHA 2025,” at the headquarters of the Uganda Rapid Deployment Centre in Jinja. The exercise is set to run until March 10, 2025. The theme of the exercise is “Disaster Response and Management on Coordination Mechanisms…
The Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF), through its Uganda Rapid Deployment Capability (URDC), has commenced a three-day planning conference designed to enhance disaster response and management efforts. Dubbed “Okoa Maisha,” the conference seeks to validate and align the disaster management capabilities of the URDC and UPDF, pinpoint areas for improvement, and formulate effective response…
The Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) 3 Infantry Division has stepped up search and recovery operations for missing persons believed to be trapped after the devastating landslide that struck villages in Buluganya Sub-county, Bulambuli district, on November 27, 2024. Major General Don Nabasa, the Commander of the 3 Infantry Division, confirmed the ongoing recovery…