Growing influence of Brics in East Africa through arms race

tank

A Russian tank in a firing exercise field. PHOTO | AFP

countries. Yet, new details show that arms supply is just as much the bloc’s area of specialisation, to eastern African countries.

The Brics arms race, it turns out, is already playing out in eastern Africa as new data indicates that in 2021 and 2022, Uganda and Rwanda were the biggest importers of Russian arms, while Ethiopia and Tanzania sourced their military firepower from China.