Artificial Intelligence in East Africa’s Public Sector: AI adoption and regulatory preparedness within East Africa

Introduction

The East African Region is no longer a consumer of global technology; it is now actively carving out its own path in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution. From streamlining customs at borders to enhancing national defence, AI is being integrated into the public sector one step at a time at an unprecedented pace. However, as governments embrace these tools, questions about governance, data privacy, and regulatory readiness arise amid the race towards integration.

This piece will focus on Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda, which are pioneering East African nations in implementing AI in the defence, education and health sectors, and in their approaches to governance, data privacy and regulation. These views will offer insight into the applicability of AI policies in the wake of newly minted or lacking AI laws, and the possible impacts a couple of years down the line.Implementation of AI in the public sector across East African countries is diverse and aims to improve efficiency and modernisation, encompassing all citizens, not just those with access to AI tools.

Therefore, analysing the current state of AI adoption, the current position of the three case studies’ regulation with regard to AI governance, and similar challenges faced across the three jurisdictions in the East African context will provide more merit to the general direction that the East African region is heading towards in its integration of AI in its public sectors.

AI in the public sector; Kenya and Rwanda

Kenya currently has no AI laws. Most of its regulation around AI is under the Data Protection Act (2019), with the assistance of supplementary policies such as the Kenya National AI Strategy.¹ However, Kenya is currently in the process of drafting an AI Bill, whose main objective would be to provide a framework for the regulation and governance of Artificial Intelligence in Kenya.² Kenya has adopted AI in its public sectors through capacity-building for public sector workers and by integrating AI tools in its defence and security sectors. This move is well captured in Kenya’s National AI Strategy 2025–2030, which highlights the use of AI to improve public sector efficiency.³

Rwanda’s AI Framework is currently based on the National AI policy, which aims to leverage AI to power economic growth, improve quality of life and position Rwanda as a global innovator for responsible and inclusive AI.⁴ There is no AI Act in Rwanda; supplementary support is offered by Personal Data and Privacy Laws. Rwanda seeks to implement AI in its public sector by organising training sessions, investing in hackathons, and establishing a risk-sharing fund to support public-sector research and development. This is highlighted in the National AI policy.⁵ Both Kenya and Rwanda are considered together within the context of AI implementation in the public sector due to notable similarities in their emerging AI governance frameworks

Within its public sector, Kenya is set on becoming a regional leader in AI adoption. This dedication is not only to the use of AI and emerging technologies, but also to the integration of smart governance into the daily operations of public service delivery. This commitment was affirmed at the Kenya Association for Public Administration and Management Symposium, where the head of Public Service highlighted that the integration of AI isn’t about replacing public servants, but rather about retooling and empowering them to work alongside intelligent systems in delivering better, faster and more targeted services.⁶

In May 2026, Kenya hosted the UNESCO ITU Global training, geared at empowering public sector leaders to advance ethical AI governance and digital transformation.⁷ Thus, the training was built on the previously launched UNESCO free online course titled ‘AI and Digital Transformation in Government’, which was designed to equip public servants with knowledge and tools to navigate AI, the challenges it poses and digital transformation responsibly and innovatively.⁸ This course was delivered through the Kenya School of Government (KSG), a flagship component of the DigiKen Programme, which aims to foster a thriving Kenyan digital platforms ecosystem that advances sustainable development and ensures inclusivity for all.⁹ This not only drives AI development but also ensures that its benefits are felt by citizens from all walks of life, thus promoting inclusive and sustainable use of technology.

Rwanda also took major steps towards incorporating AI in its public sector, with one notable example being the Government of Rwanda signing a three-year Memorandum of Understanding with Anthropic, an AI safety and research company, and creator of AI model Claude.¹⁰

AI in Defence

Additionally, Kenya opted to implement AI in its public sector by conducting training of its military personnel. This was spearheaded by the KDF Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Course, which was conducted at the Humanitarian Peace Support School in Nairobi.¹¹ The aim of this training was to position Kenya as a regional leader in military innovation, promote technological collaboration and capacity building of Kenya among African defence institutions and prepare military personnel for the growing role of data, automation and digital technologies within the defence sector.¹²

Tanzania

Tanzania also lacks a dedicated AI law, which is similar to Kenya’s current position. However, Tanzania is currently developing its National AI Strategy, which will offer guidance on the regulation and governance of Artificial Intelligence and emerging technologies, as most of the laws used are data protection laws.¹³ Additionally, the Digital Economy Strategic Framework (2024-2034) outlines multiple sectors through which Tanzania can align itself to be a technology-driven, high-productivity economy.¹⁴ One of these sectors is the Education sector, which is cross-cutting throughout the country to promote inclusivity.

AI in Education- Tanzania

Tanzania has established itself as a regional leader in implementing AI in the education sector. This is through the National Digital Education Guidelines for AI in Education, which were launched in January 2025, with the main purpose of guiding the effective, ethical, secure and responsible development and use of AI tools and applications within Tanzania’s education sector

These guidelines seek to achieve this purpose by supporting institutions in developing strategies that embrace the ethical use of AI, ensuring that AI tools and applications are accessible to all learners, including learners with disabilities and those from underserved communities, setting clear protocols for data privacy and ethical considerations for AI deployment in education and aligning AI use usage in education with national and international regulations and standards.¹⁵

Practically, this would mean that students would have access to personalised and inclusive learning AI tools, including virtual tutors and adaptive assessments, to cater to each student’s unique needs. However, to achieve this, the guidelines outline eleven dimensions, which can be divided into 4 sub categories that would be used to gauge successful integration. They include; curriculum integration, capacity building, infrastructure construction and platform access, and assessment and evaluation.¹⁶

However, despite these plans, Tanzania faces similar challenges with its geographical neighbours,of limited high-speed connectivity, with only 30.1% of citizens having access to 5G internet speeds¹⁷ which hinders the seamless integration of AI technologies and uniform governance all across the country.

Uganda

Similar to both Kenya and Tanzania, Uganda has no AI Laws in place. In place of a dedicated framework, Uganda uses Data Protection Laws to govern AI use and regulation within the Republic of Uganda. Additionally, Uganda has taken an innovative approach to address the lack of a dedicated law by leveraging research projects within its national health institutions.

AI in Health- Uganda

Unlike Tanzania, Uganda’s implementation of AI in its health sector isn’t marked by a policy, but rather by an innovation from a national institution. Uganda’s Makerere University launched its AI Health Lab in March 2025, which is a central driver in research and development using AI in the health sector.¹⁸ Their projects include the Ocular 3D project, which 3D prints an adapter that connects smartphones to microscopes, which allows for easy image capture and alignment in health centres.¹⁹ These projects allow for the integration of AI to improve the accuracy of medical diagnoses and assist medics in making informed decisions, forecasting and monitoring public health trends and developing locally made AI-powered platforms to expand health access to remote or underserved communities.²⁰

Some of the challenges cited in Uganda’s implementation of AI in its health sector include; limited funding to carry out implementation of AI technologies, regulatory gaps and resistance to change, citing concerns about AI’s impact on job opportunities.²¹

Analysis

Key takeaways

Within the East Africa region, countries have taken various approaches to implementing AI in their public sectors, reflecting their unique national priorities and institutional strength. Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda, for example, have opted for a strategy-led approach by prioritising the creation of comprehensive frameworks to guide national adoption. Both Kenya and Rwanda have developed national AI strategies and policies that focus on economic growth, public service efficiency and capacity building. Kenya’s strategy aims to retool public servants to work alongside intelligent systems, while Rwanda uses its policies to position itself as a regional and global innovator for responsible AI. Similarly, Tanzania’s strategy aims to increase productivity and provide guidance, as illustrated in the education sector. In contrast, Uganda has opted for a research-led approach by focusing on institutional research. Rather than being driven by a centralised strategy, as seen in the former countries, Uganda’s AI implementation is led by national institutions and enables the creation of practical, innovative solutions.

Similar challenges faced

Despite the varying approaches to AI implementation across the East African countries discussed, the public sectors converge on several critical fronts. AI Infrastructure remains uneven. While Kenya has made significant progress through the National Optic Fibre Backbone Infrastructure (NOFBI), rural areas still experience unreliable broadband and electricity.²² In Uganda, although internet connectivity has expanded, broadband access and digital infrastructure remain concentrated in urban centres, limiting the deployment of AI-enabled public services in rural areas. Similarly, Tanzania continues to face gaps in broadband coverage and digital infrastructure, particularly outside major cities, constraining the large-scale implementation of AI technologies.²³

Human capital is another shared challenge. Kenya has a growing AI ecosystem supported by innovation hubs such as Konza Technopolis and iHub, but demand for AI specialists continues to outpace supply.²⁴ Uganda faces shortages of skilled AI professionals despite efforts by universities and innovation hubs to strengthen digital skills.²⁵ Tanzania experiences similar constraints, with limited specialised AI training and research capacity, which reduces the availability of data scientists and AI engineers.

Financial and governance challenges further constrain AI deployment. Across the three countries, many AI initiatives rely on donor funding or public-private partnerships, making long-term sustainability uncertain. Additionally, fragmented government data systems and evolving AI governance frameworks limit interoperability, transparency, and accountability, underscoring the need for stronger data governance and comprehensive AI regulation as public sector AI adoption expands.

Conclusion

In conclusion, while the East African region is showing remarkable innovation in AI adoption, and actively embracing AI, each in their own different approaches, it is evident that Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania face similar challenges of skill gaps and isolated systems. The path forward requires a shift from isolated national approaches to a coordinated approach that prioritises innovation. While the current approach has aided the adoption of AI in various sectors across these 4 countries, it has also raised recurring challenges in all 4 jurisdictions. In making this shift, the public sectors of Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda can harness AI not only to solve current problems, but also to shape a shared innovative future that benefits all citizens.

Additionally, aligning policies across the region will provide a harmonised, cohesive growth trajectory, as similar sectors will benefit from established ones. Ultimately, this would mean that East Africa is transitioning towards a shared innovative future, where AI is not just used to solve local problems, but to foster a unified technology-driven economy.

Image used was genereted by ChatGPT.