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President Yoweri Museveni has directed a nationwide shift in citizenship registration, mandating local verification of immigrant communities and payment of registration fees by those who arrived in Uganda after 1962.
In a statement shared on X following a meeting with the Bavandimwe, Banyarwanda immigrants of Uganda, on June 23, 2025, at State House, Entebbe, Museveni expressed concern about what he called “misleading claims” regarding mistreatment of immigrant groups.
“I was beginning to be irritated by claims that, especially our Banyarwanda immigrants, were being mistreated,” the President said.
“I was beginning to think that some People are making false allegations on the matter for some evil ulterior motives.”
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The President explained that the issue of citizenship is a community matter, best handled by local leaders and elders rather than central bureaucrats.
“The bureaucrats should be guided by the Communities’ representative structures, the LCs and the local Elders,” he said, emphasising that local populations are best placed to assess identity and lineage.
Under the new directive, citizenship verification will be decentralised and conducted at parish level by Local Verification Committees comprising LCI members, ISO officers and respected elders.
District-level committees will serve as final arbiters in cases of dispute.
The National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) will act upon decisions of these committees and cancel ID cards where citizenship is found to be fraudulent.
Museveni drew on historical examples to clarify the distinction between those who qualify for automatic citizenship and those who do not.
Referring to families who were in Uganda before its final borders were drawn in 1926, he affirmed, “They are Citizens of Uganda automatically, unless they choose not to be.”
He further directed that citizens or applicants whose families settled in Uganda by 1962 will not be required to pay any fees for registration or immigration documentation.
However, those who arrived after that year will be subject to payment.
“No payments should be made by those who were here by 1962. Those who came after 1962 should pay,” Museveni declared.
In addressing the complexity of Uganda’s citizenship categories, Museveni rejected proposals to eliminate distinctions based on time of arrival.
“Some People were trying to talk about the categories—that there should be no categories. That one, we reject. Those categories are facts and nobody who does not have an evil ulterior motive should have a problem with facts.”
The President concluded by reiterating that truthfulness during verification is paramount.
False declarations, he warned, constitute a criminal offence under Ugandan law.