President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has told Ugandan Banyarwanda to choose between Uganda and Rwanda, telling them they cannot be both Ugandans and Rwandans.
Museveni met the leaders of the Banyarwanda Community or Abavandimwe at State House Entebbe on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. Frank Gashumba led the Abavandimwe Council delegation.
In the meeting were Gen David Muhoozi, the junior minister for internal affairs; Rosemary Kisembo, the Executive Director of the National Identification Registration Authority (NIRA), and Brig Johnson Namanya, the Commissioner, Citizenship and Passport Control at the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control (DCIC).
Gashumba called for equal treatment of the Banyarwanda community in Uganda, especially in the issuance of passports.
“We are Banyarwanda of Uganda, not Rwanda. As long as one holds a Ugandan National ID, they should receive a passport without bias,” he said. “Our children are being unfairly denied passports. This is more than a document: it’s access to opportunity.”
President Museveni said his government was committed to protecting the rights and identity the Banyarwanda (Ugandans of Rwandan descent) in Uganda.
Museveni called on officials of immigration and NIRA to fairly treat the Banyarwanda in Uganda.
“The people who have been here for generations, and are known by their communities, should not be harassed or denied services. They deserve respect and their rights,” he said, emphasizing that bureaucratic delays and unlawful scrutiny should not be used to deny the rights of Banyarwanda who are citizens by birth, registration, or naturalization.
“By the 1950s, when I was growing up in Ntungamo, we the Bahooro were already part of Uganda. The 1995 Constitution is clear: those who were here by 1926 are citizens.”
Museveni previously issued an executive order on citizenship enforcement, with directives on lawful determination of citizenship, including for long-term residents and issuance of national IDs and passports.
The executive order emphasized the need for verification of citizenship through local leadership, with endorsement letters from LC1, LC3, GISOs, and RDCs, and automatic birthright citizenship for those born in Uganda.
The president also emphasized community-based identification which relies on the testimonies of relatives under oath, elders and local leaders in cases where there is no formal documentation.
He also directed immigration officials to refer citizenship disputes to the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA). He also promised to institute a committee “to ensure fairness and truth prevail.”
“Uganda is not America. Here, we don’t rely on graveyards or data systems to prove ancestry. We use local knowledge,” added Museveni.
But Museveni also reminded the Banyarwanda in Uganda that they had a responsibility when it comes to national allegiance, telling them to choose between Uganda and Rwanda.
“What we cannot accept is dual citizenship between Rwanda and Uganda. Please decide. You cannot be both,” he noted.
“Even I, as a Muhooro, recognise this. If I wish to be Rwandan, I would go to Rwanda, but I cannot claim both identities.”
“Even me, I am a Muhooro. Our people are across Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, but I was born here. If I want to be Rwandan, I go to Rwanda. But I can’t say I’m both Munyankole and Munyarwanda.”
Even President Museveni has previously said that most people who call themselves Baganda in Central Uganda are actually Banyarwanda. (See Details Here and There).
Relatedly, the Rwandan army has spoken out reports of President Paul Kagame’s sickness. (See Details Here and There).
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