KIGALI, Rwanda — African policymakers, military and security officials, diplomats, researchers and technology specialists gathered at the Kigali Convention Centre on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, for a high-level discussion examining how artificial intelligence and autonomous technologies are changing Africa’s defence and security landscape.
Organized by the International Security Conference on Africa (ISCA), the meeting was held under the theme, “The Rise of Autonomous Systems: Implications for Defence and Security in Africa.” The forum brought together specialists from different sectors to assess the opportunities, security risks and policy challenges associated with AI-enabled and autonomous systems, while considering how African countries can strengthen governance, technological capacity and strategic independence.
The discussions took place against a rapidly changing global security environment in which autonomous aerial, maritime and ground systems are increasingly being incorporated into surveillance, intelligence, border protection and military operations. Participants examined how these technologies could strengthen responses to terrorism, armed groups and organized crime while also presenting complex questions about accountability, ethics, human oversight and control over the use of force.
Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Olivier J.P. Nduhungirehe, emphasized the importance of ensuring that African countries are prepared for technological transformation rather than becoming dependent on systems developed and controlled elsewhere. “Africa cannot afford to fall behind as these technologies continue to evolve,” Nduhungirehe said. He emphasized that understanding the implications of emerging technologies for both national security and strategic autonomy will be increasingly important as they become more accessible.
ISCA Executive Director Lt. Gen. (Rtd) Frank Mushyo Kamanzi similarly highlighted how advances in artificial intelligence and autonomous platforms are changing warfare, border security, peace-support operations and national defence. His remarks placed particular attention on maintaining meaningful human oversight and accountability as machines assume increasingly sophisticated roles within security and military operations.
The first panel examined Africa’s changing security landscape, autonomous systems and emerging security challenges, bringing together perspectives from diplomacy, defence and technology. Participants considered how autonomous technologies are altering operational environments, military planning, national security and the broader character of contemporary conflict.
Ebba Kalondo, former spokesperson of the African Union Commission, described the transformation as extending well beyond individual technologies. “Autonomous systems are reshaping Africa’s security landscape, our operations, the nature of conflict, and national security itself,” she said during the forum, according to ISCA.
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Col. Patrick Nyirishema, Head of Defence Research and Development in the Rwanda Defence Force, highlighted the growing capacity of machines to perform functions that previously depended heavily on human judgment. “We’ve entered an era where machines can see. Machines can analyse. Machines can make decisions,” he said, illustrating how technological capability is becoming increasingly important to modern defence.
The second panel, focused on “Africa’s Strategic Response: Adaptation, Governance and Development of Strategic Capabilities,” shifted attention from identifying emerging challenges to considering how African governments and institutions should respond. Participants discussed domestic technological development, specialized skills, governance frameworks, regional cooperation and the need for African countries to retain meaningful authority over technologies affecting their national security.
Lt. Gen. (Rtd) Tukur Yusuf Buratai, former Chief of Army Staff of the Nigerian Army, called for African countries to strengthen their own capacity to create and adapt emerging security technologies instead of remaining principally consumers of foreign systems. “Africa must move from dependence to production,” Buratai said. “We must develop, customize, and build these systems ourselves.”
His remarks underscored one of the central themes emerging from the Kigali discussions: technological sovereignty. As autonomous systems become increasingly important to military and security operations, participants stressed that relying heavily on externally developed technologies could create strategic vulnerabilities and limit African countries’ ability to determine how critical security systems are designed, deployed and governed.
Dr. Paul-Simon Handy, Regional Director for East Africa and Representative to the African Union at the Institute for Security Studies, framed the issue as a question extending beyond simply purchasing or adopting new technologies. “Adopting these technologies is not simply a matter of upgrading existing capabilities,” Handy said. “The deeper question is urgency: whether Africa shapes these systems or merely receives them.”
The discussions also acknowledged that autonomous technologies present both opportunities and potential dangers. Murithi Mutiga, Program Director for Africa at the International Crisis Group, emphasized the importance of considering the two dimensions simultaneously. “For Africa, autonomous systems carry both promise and threat, and we must hold both in view at once,” Mutiga said.
Ambassador Martin Kimani, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Africa Center, emphasized another fundamental requirement: human capacity. He said technological development must be accompanied by professionals capable of understanding the wider environments in which such systems operate. “We will need people skilled not only in the technology and the intelligence layer, but people who understand the political, social, and economic systems we are building it into,” Kimani said.
Col. (Rtd) David Kanamugire, Chief Executive Officer of Rwanda’s National Cyber Security Authority, connected the debate over autonomous systems to previous periods of technological transformation. “History is clear on this: the societies that missed the industrial revolution did not simply fall behind; they were dominated by those who mastered the technology,” Kanamugire said. “Africa cannot afford to repeat that experience with autonomous systems.”
The discussions therefore placed technological development alongside cybersecurity, education, research, industrial capacity and governance. Participants considered that building autonomous systems requires more than acquiring equipment; it also requires engineers, researchers, cybersecurity professionals, policymakers and institutions capable of understanding and managing the political, economic and security consequences of rapidly evolving technology.
Governance was another central concern because increasingly accessible AI-enabled systems are not limited to governments and conventional military institutions. The wider availability of advanced technologies could provide non-state armed groups, terrorist organizations and criminal networks with capabilities that were previously difficult to obtain, placing additional pressure on governments to improve intelligence, cybersecurity, regulation and regional security cooperation.
Mali’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Abdoulaye Diop, placed the technological debate within the broader geopolitical competition surrounding emerging security systems. “They are political. They are geostrategic. They require a political response,” Diop said, emphasizing that decisions about autonomous technologies could affect sovereignty and international power relationships as much as military effectiveness.
The Kigali forum reflected a broader effort to develop African-led approaches to emerging security challenges. Rather than treating autonomous systems solely as imported technological products, discussions emphasized the importance of African research, production, governance and specialized expertise capable of adapting technological innovation to the continent’s particular security requirements.
As artificial intelligence and autonomous systems assume a larger role in global defence and security, the Kigali discussions highlighted a strategic choice confronting African states: whether the continent will primarily consume technologies developed elsewhere or strengthen its capacity to design, govern and adapt its own systems. The meeting emphasized that Africa’s ability to develop expertise, establish effective safeguards and invest in domestic technological capabilities could become increasingly important to protecting national sovereignty, strengthening security and preserving strategic independence in the emerging technological era.
