President Mohamud Meets Museveni in Kampala as AUSSOM Faces Funding Crisis

KAMPALA – President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has arrived in Kampala for a working visit, holding talks with his Ugandan counterpart, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, on the eve of a crucial summit on the future of the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM). The meeting comes as the mission faces an existential funding crisis, with the United States preparing to withdraw logistical support by the end of the year.

The two leaders discussed strengthening bilateral ties, security cooperation, counter-terrorism efforts, and regional coordination to ensure lasting peace and stability in the Horn of Africa. They also exchanged views on the upcoming AUSSOM summit, which will bring together troop-contributing countries, defence ministers and heads of state to chart the future of the mission and Somalia’s long-term security transition.

A Summit of Last Resort

President Mohamud’s arrival in Kampala comes just days after Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, warned that the AUSSOM mission is facing an existential crisis. The United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) has already slashed its financial and operational support by 25 percent, forcing frontline commanders to adjust operational priorities and threatening the gains made against the Al-Shabaab insurgency over the last two decades.

The Kampala summit, which opens on July 31, is the culmination of weeks of intense diplomacy. A US delegation has toured Jubaland, Puntland and Somaliland ahead of the summit, signalling Washington’s willingness to engage directly with regional administrations even as it prepares to withdraw financial support for the UN mission. The United States has contributed nearly $2 billion to the UN support mission in Somalia but has grown frustrated with what it views as insufficient progress by Somali leaders in assuming responsibility for their own security.

A Partnership of Convenience

The meeting between Presidents Mohamud and Museveni reflects the strategic importance of the Uganda-Somalia relationship. Uganda was the first nation to deploy troops to Somalia under the original African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in 2007 and has maintained a significant presence ever since. Uganda has already declared its intention to withdraw its troops after nearly two decades, making the Kampala summit a last-ditch effort to prevent a broader exodus of troop-contributing countries.

The AUSSOM mission, which officially replaced AMISOM in January 2025, currently fields nearly 12,000 personnel. Without UNSOS support, the mission would lose critical logistical support, including food, water, fuel, transportation, medical services and casualty evacuation. The African Union has projected a need for approximately $190 million to facilitate the shift from ATMIS to AUSSOM, while civil society monitors note that short-term needs already surpass $90 million. The EU has reaffirmed its support for AUSSOM, but even that is not enough to close the gap.

Way Forward

The Kampala summit represents a pivotal moment for Somalia’s security transition. The withdrawal of UN logistical support and the potential end of the UN mandate under the current framework place the burden squarely on African nations to sustain the peacekeeping mission. President Mohamud’s meeting with President Museveni is a reminder that Somalia’s security future depends on the continued commitment of its African partners—a commitment that is increasingly uncertain.

As Gen. Kainerugaba noted at the opening of the military chiefs’ meeting, “the quality of the decisions made at this moment will determine the future of the mission and the progress achieved together in Somalia.” The question is whether African leaders can rise to the challenge, or whether the hard-won gains of the past two decades will be undone by a funding crisis that was foreseeable but left unaddressed.