In an address to chiefs of intelligence services gathered in Mombasa, Kenya, in April 2026, President William Ruto of Kenya, who is the African Union (AU) Champion for Institutional reform, proclaimed that the African Union (AU), as it stands today, is not fit for purpose.’ While it may seem evident given the increasing ineffectiveness of the AU in dealing with the challenges facing the continent, this statement does not exactly tell us what the AU is not fit for. It is true that Africa’s peace, security and governance landscape is undergoing one of its most severe stress tests since the establishment of the African Union (AU). Despite the existence of one of the most elaborate regional peace and security frameworks, the continent continues to experience a proliferation of armed conflicts, unconstitutional changes of government, democratic regression and complex humanitarian emergencies. It is this growing gulf between the policy, normative and institutional arrangements of the AU and the peace and security realities of the continent that, in part, led to the call for the reform of the AU, including its peace and security system.