KAMPALA, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Ugandan military has said it will not deploy in neighboring Kenya despite reports by local media that the troops are on standby to enter the east African country.
Brig. Richard Karemire, the Ugandan military spokesperson said in a statement late on Sunday that Uganda had not received any requests on deployment and that the situation in Kenya does not warrant it.
"The Republic of Kenya is a sovereign country and as such, its security and that of its people are exclusively within their domain. The Kenyan people have spoken about their choice of government through their recently concluded elections," Karemire said.
He however said that Uganda will work with its neighbors within the existing frameworks such as the East African Community, East African Standby Force, among others.
Under these frameworks, a country may ask for assistance from her neighbors, for instance in 2013, South Sudan asked for military assistance from Uganda.
Karemire urged the public to ignore reports in local media that the military is on standby and that a team of officers has been sent out to Kenya in preparation for such.
Kenya last week concluded a hotly contested presidential election in which the incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta was declared winner.
The opposition protested the results arguing that the election was fraudulent. This sparked off violence in some part of the east African country.
The region fears a repeat of the 2007 election violence which left over 1,300 people dead and over 600,000 others left homeless. Regional trade was interrupted.
