Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has signed an Executive Order aimed at protecting citizenship rights in Uganda, in a move seen as a response to complaints from the Banyarwanda community.
The Banyarwanda, who were born and raised in Uganda, had cited human rights violations by authorities, claiming they were being denied identification documents such as passports and national identity cards despite being Ugandan citizens.
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 Executive Order clarifies 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.
President Museveni directed that every Ugandan citizen has a right to a passport or other travel document and to enter, leave and return to Uganda. He also instructed officials of the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control to follow Section 40 of the Citizenship and Immigration Control Act, which requires applicants to provide their National Identification Number (NIN) and meet other standard requirements.
The President emphasized that citizenship by birth is inherent and not given by immigration officers. Therefore, there must be a presumption of citizenship unless an immigration officer has solid evidence to the contrary.
The Order also prohibits the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control from confiscating or canceling National Identity cards issued by the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) without following due process.
Additionally, the President directed the Minister of Internal Affairs and the Attorney General to urgently address a legal gap regarding automatic citizenship for children of Ugandan citizens. Currently, the law does not confer automatic citizenship to children of citizens born abroad or to those who acquire citizenship through naturalization.
