Cabinet endorses Kiswahili as national language

The state minister of Gender, Peace Mutuuzo, has revealed that the cabinet has finalized the paperwork that will be presented to parliament endorsing Kiswahili as national language.

She said parliament will also discuss the matter to ensure that there is harmony within East African countries in adopting Kiswahili has a medium of communication in the region.

She made the revelation while addressing journalists at the media centre in Kampala.

“We are in the final stages of establishing a Kiswahili council. On Monday next week [September 9], we shall present the paperwork for approval as part of our obligation to the East African Community," she said.

She said one of the major responsibilities of the Kiswahili council will be to set the standards and promote Kiswahili.

“Previously Kiswahili in Uganda had a poor reputation among Ugandans because it was associated with mainly the force (army)," she said.

She said Kiswahili will also be the official medium of communication on the Uganda Airlines.

“We have the airline which will be communicating in Kiswahili because we can’t communicate in the languages of all the 65 different tribes [in Uganda],” she said.

She said the language will make it easier to build good relationships and trust when working with different people in the region.

She noted since East Africa has hundreds of tribes and languages, ethnic differences, language barrier has been an issue.

Kiswahili, she said, can become the common medium of communication because it is widely spoken in the region.

“So we need to adapt the language which is close to our way of life but also the language known to many people,” she said.

Uganda has no national language although Luganda is widely spoken. English is the official langauage of communication.