By Isaac senabulya
Parliament
The Minister of State for Internal Affairs, David Muhoozi has refused to agree with the allegations of discrimination made by some members of the Banyarwanda Community in Uganda and demanded they prove their Ugandan citizenship before crucial documents like National IDs and Passports are issued to them.
Muhoozi made the remarks while appearing before Parliament’s Committee of Defence and Internal Affairs chaired by Wilson, on 15th August 2024, while responding to a petition created by Joseph Ssewungu (Kalungu West), from the Council of Abavandime, an Association of the Banyarwanda Community who alleged that Government was infringing on the rights by denying them passports and National IDs.
“The Banyarwanda are indeed listed as an indigenous community in Uganda and therefore, fully recognized as citizens by birth, provided they provide satisfactory information like all the other communities listed.
However, applicants for either an identity card or a passport still bear the burden of proving that they belong to the Indigenous community they state to belong to. As such, applications are considered on an individual basis as per the provisions of the Constitution,” explained Muhoozi.
Kiboga district woman MP Christine Nakimwero detailed the plight members of the Banyarwanda Community in her district go through, saying many have been denied crucial documents like national IDs and passports, yet when it comes to elections and voting, their citizenship isn’t questioned at that stage.
She explained, “They can’t process driving permits now, now that the driving permits must tally with the National IDs. They can’t register companies, they can’t open bank accounts.
They can’t register phone lines, they can’t participate in property ownership transfers. So you look at somebody who is deprived of all those services in Uganda but is only entitled to elections. With elections, they have never been left out, they are even the leaders of mobilizing people for elections and their elections registration is superb.”
Nakimwero added that some of the members of this community have died by suicide due to frustration with the Government noting, “Our grazing areas are becoming very small for our population, and people in Kiboga would wish to go out for employment, but it isn’t possible. We have even cases of people who have killed themselves because they feel they are really segregated and so, if they are denied everything, they aren’t refugees and others are even leaders. It is very shaming. Do we need to change some provisions in the constitution?”
However, Minister Muhoozi defended the Government’s tough stance on citizenship arguing that the Ministry is mandated to maintain internal peace, security, and stability in Uganda by ensuring the preservation, and protection of Ugandan citizenship, and there is a need for the applicants of these crucial documents to provide factual information during the interview process to have their citizenship accepted.
Muhoozi explained, “The biographical facts of an applicant are stated in the application forms are mapped to the legal criteria and the conclusion is drawn on some balance of probabilities.
In cases where doubt is cast on the facts as stated by the applicant during the interview process, the burden to prove the claim to citizenship lies upon the individual applicant. The guidance to all officers is that in deciding whether or not a person is a citizen of Uganda by birth, one must carefully examine the question in the context of the constitutional provision and the subsidiary laws on the subject.”
The Minister also revealed that the Banyarwanda petition fell short of providing details of the individuals whose applications for IDs and passports have been denied or withdrawn, to enable the Ministry to investigate the allegations because cases of citizenship are handled on a case-by-case basis.
“In this case, the petition is generalized and doesn’t provide specific details regarding any particular applicant to enable the Ministry to review the matter in accordance with the statement above to determine the extent of segregation and violation of rights. But they didn’t furnish us with all the information we wanted, which we shall now have the opportunity to table for this Committee to make their decision,” said Muhoozi.
