Ugandan Citizens of Rwandan origin applaud President Museveni for the Executive Order signed to protect their rights.

Following numerous complaints from a group of Banyarwanda born and raised in Uganda who have been denied identification documents by Uganda authorities, the President of Uganda, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, has signed an Executive Order aimed at addressing such concerns related to passport and identity document issuance in the country.

In the Executive Order, signed on January 24, 2025, that seeks to address the long-standing complaints, the President said “By virtue of the authority vested in the President by Article 99 (1) and (4) of the Constitution, this Executive Order is made on the 24th of January, 2025,”

According to the President, he has consistently received complaints regarding the manner in which people applying for passports are sometimes treated by the concerned authorities. This mainly relates to how the question of whether or not an applicant is a citizen of Uganda is approached when he or she has applied for a passport.

The complaints from a group of Banyarwanda on several occasions involved human rights violations from authorities. They claimed that they were being denied identification documents such as passports and national identity cards, despite being Ugandan citizens of the Banyarwanda tribe.

However, in the executive order, President Museveni clarified that the issue of citizenship was resolved under Chapter 3 of the 1995 Constitution which provides for three types of citizenship; citizenship by birth; citizenship by registration and citizenship by naturalization.

“Clearly, the issue is not the law or any gaps in it but how the law is administered with regard to proof of citizenship by applicants for passports or other documents of identity,” he said.

“Therefore, since the challenge is administrative in nature, I hereby direct as follows; Every Ugandan citizen has a right to a passport or other travel document and to enter, leave and return to Uganda,” he ordered.

Duuring the press conference 

The Leaders of the Banyarwanda Community in Uganda including The Council of Abavandimwe, Umbano, INSHUTI Nyanshuti Group among others on Friday 24^th January 2025 while briefing the media at Serena Hotel in Kampala welcomed the directives in the Executive Order while dismissing claims made by individuals, they called impostors who had earlier gathered in Kampala to discuss the same order.

The representatives who jointly signed a statement rejected the assertions made by Donati Kananura, Simon Kayitana, and Mukasa Mbidde as false, alarmist, and divisive and not representative of the interests of the Banyarwanda community in Uganda.

“We therefore reject, dismiss and condemn all the sensation, divisive and misleading pronouncements constantly made by this clique, while lying to the unsuspecting public including their false claims of leadership and self-appointed titles which are lies and fabrications. Therefore, we appeal to the public to reject and dismiss them with all the contempt they deserve” Frank Gashumba the leader of the Council for Abavandimwe said.

He reaffirmed the commitment to representing the interests of Indigenous Banyarwanda in Uganda and maintaining its founding principles of unity and advocacy using the Executive Order, and looking forward to a positive change for their community while standing firm against any attempts to derail their efforts through falsehoods or opportunism.

“We warn the media, the general public, and authorities at all levels to ignore, disregard, and treat with contempt all the lies and fabrications propagated by, Donati Kananura, Simon Kayitana, Mukasa Mbidde, and their associates,” he said       

Frank Gashumba at UBC 

While appearing on UBC Talkshow Gashumba said “The constitution states that if a Ugandan has a child with a foreigner, the child automatically becomes a Ugandan. However, there have been cases where the Banyarwanda have been denied passports, despite falling under this category. How can a citizen of Uganda bear a non-citizen”

Ms. Grace Kabayo the Senior Presidential Advisor of Special Duties at the same brief said that they are going to reach out to the Banyarwanda community in Uganda to sensitize and mobilize them on how they can resolve the problem of identification following the executive order. She also called for a new representative to the Buganda Kingdom through voting.

The provisions of section 40 of the Citizenship and Immigration Control Act, Capt. 313 only requires a person to produce his or her National Identification Number (NIN) and to comply with any other requirements prescribed by the board.

“All administrative processes through which a person might be required to prove citizenship, especially by birth, must uphold the dignity of all persons and no requirement not provided for or contemplated under the law should be applied. Immigration officials should be mindful that citizenship by birth is inherent and not given by the immigration officers and that there must be a presumption of citizenship unless an immigration officer has cogent and reliable evidence that the information submitted by an applicant is not true” The President said.

According to the leadership of Umubano Grough, Umubano was founded in 1995 by the Late John Rucogoza , the Late Hajje Gashegu the Late Emphrahim Kamuhanjire, Capt Gad Gasatura to mention but a few. Since then, Umubano held elections in 2010 as a result of which, Dr. Ephrahim Kamuhangire was elected the Chairman of Umubano a position he held until November 25th, 2024 when he passed away, and since then, we have not held elections to appoint new office bearers.