Kenyan President William Ruto missed AUSSOM summit in Kampala Uganda where AUSSOM troop contributors heads of states are meeting today.
Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has left the country for Uganda to attend the Second Extraordinary Summit of the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM).
This comes as regional leaders deliberate on efforts to strengthen security and stabilisation efforts in the Horn of Africa.
Kindiki departed Kenya on Friday morning, where he is expected to represent the country at the high-level meeting bringing together leaders and senior officials from countries contributing troops to the Somalia peace-support mission.
Defence Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya was present as Kindiki left the country.
The Deputy President was also seen off by security personnel before his departure.
The summit, which runs from July 29 to 31, brings together heads of state and government from Burundi, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda, alongside senior representatives from the African Union (AU), United Nations and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
The meeting comes as regional countries continue to coordinate their response to the security situation in Somalia, particularly the threat posed by Al-Shabaab and the need to strengthen the capacity of Somali security forces.
Kenya is among the countries contributing troops to AUSSOM, which replaced the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) at the beginning of 2025.
AUSSOM became operational on January 1, 2025, with a mandate focused on supporting Somalia in degrading Al-Shabaab, protecting civilians and creating conditions for the gradual transfer of security responsibilities to Somali security forces.
