Media icon Karitas Karisimbi reaffirms allegiance to Uganda despite passport revocation

Veteran radio personality Karitas Karisimbi has reaffirmed her love and commitment to Uganda, despite having her Ugandan passport revoked several years ago.

Karisimbi shared her experience as debate continued over Parliament’s Appointments Committee’s reported rejection of Dr Lawrence Muganga’s nomination as State Minister for Internal Affairs.

A Ugandan of Rwandan heritage, Karisimbi says she was born, raised and educated in Uganda, which also gave her opportunities to work and serve.

However, she says, her passport was unilaterally cancelled by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but provided no context for the decision.

“When my Ugandan passport was revoked years ago, it was one of the most difficult experiences of my life. It felt deeply personal and, at the time, heartbreaking,” she wrote.

The revocation, she said, forced her to choose between parts of her identity that she had never viewed as being in conflict. 

Later, she decided to obtain a Rwandan passport and a Ugandan work permit, allowing her to continue living and working in the country.

Although she is of Rwandan heritage, Karisimbi said she considers herself Ugandan in every meaningful sense because she has lived in the country throughout her life.

“While the process brought inconvenience and frustration, it never stopped me from continuing to work, build, contribute, and serve alongside fellow Ugandans,” she said.

“Though I am of Rwandan heritage, I have always considered myself Ugandan in every meaningful sense of the word, having lived here my entire life.”

“That experience taught me an important lesson: service to one’s country is not measured solely by the passport one carries, but by the contribution one makes, the values one upholds, and the commitment one demonstrates to the people around them.”

Her comments followed controversy surrounding Muganga, the Vice Chancellor of Victoria University, whom President Yoweri Museveni nominated as State Minister for Internal Affairs in his new Cabinet announced in May.

Parliament’s Appointments Committee declined to approve Muganga after members raised questions about his citizenship status. 

Committee members reportedly sought evidence that he had renounced any foreign citizenship that could make him ineligible to hold a ministerial position.

Uganda permits dual citizenship, but Section 19D and the Fifth Schedule of the Uganda Citizenship and Immigration Control Act restrict dual citizens from holding certain offices. 

These include President, Vice President, Prime Minister, Cabinet minister and minister of state.

Muganga acknowledged that he had held Ugandan and Canadian citizenship but rejected claims that he currently holds Rwandan citizenship.

He also maintained that acquiring citizenship elsewhere did not reduce his love for Uganda.

Reports from the closed-door vetting session claimed that the committee had information linking him to Ugandan, Canadian and Rwandan passports. Muganga was reportedly unable to provide sufficient documentation showing that he had renounced the foreign citizenships in question.

The academic later accused some officials of prejudice and argued that the controversy had taken on an ethnic dimension. 

However, lawmakers who commented on the matter said the committee’s concerns related to citizenship documents and legal eligibility, not his Rwandan heritage.

Karisimbi urged Ugandans to avoid turning the dispute into a source of ethnic division. She said people seeking to inflame tensions or claim to represent all Banyarwanda did not speak for her.

She argued that public officials should also be assessed according to their competence, integrity, service and contribution to Uganda.

“Let us therefore choose wisdom over anger, unity over division, and dialogue over suspicion,” Karisimbi wrote.

Under Parliament’s rules, the committee must communicate its decision to the President. The President may appeal against a rejected nomination and ask Parliament to make a final determination.