Uganda walks a tightrope on the Banyarwanda citizenship debate
Published: 20/Jun/2026
Source: The East African
By Nelson Naturinda
What began as a routine government formation process after President Yoweri Museveni’s swearing-in for a new term on May 12 has thrust Uganda’s long-running citizenship debate into the national spotlight.
Among the names submitted for ministerial jobs were individuals who had previously held citizenship of countries other than Uganda. While some nominees such as Adonia Ayebare and David Echodu faced scrutiny from Parliament’s Appointments Committee over citizenship-related issues, it was the rejection of Dr Lawrence Muganga that reignited a much deeper conversation about identity, ethnicity and citizenship.
Long before the Muganga controversy emerged, what started as complaints about difficulty obtaining national identity cards and passports had evolved into one of Uganda’s sensitive constitutional debates.
Leaders of the Banyarwanda community have since sought parliamentary intervention, presidential action and constitutional reforms, arguing that they are necessary to resolve decades of uncertainty surrounding their citizenship and a sense of belonging.
Over the past two years, organisations representing Ugandans of Banyarwanda descent have petitioned Parliament, met with President Museveni and conducted nationwide consultations aimed at securing changes to Uganda’s citizenship framework.
And the campaign has extended beyond Uganda’s borders. The community’s representatives have sought meetings with officials of the European Union, the British High Commission, the United Nations, the United States Embassy, and other members of the diplomatic corps in an effort to draw attention to their concerns.
Their legal adviser, Fred Mukasa Mbidde, a former member of the East African Legislative Assembly, argues that more than six million Kinyarwanda-speaking people in Uganda have been “rendered stateless” because of provisions contained in Article 10 of the 1995 Constitution.
Read further (paywall): https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/uganda-walks-a-tightrope-on-the-banyarwanda-citizenship-debate-5503090