A section of Banyarwanda in Uganda has decried segregation, discrimination, and stigmatization which have made them miss out on many opportunities in the country.
The group under their umbrella Council for Banyarwanda made the comments during a meeting in which they proposed to change their tribal name to Abavandimwe.
The change was proposed with an aim to strike a distinction between those born in Uganda and the Rwandan nationals born and raised in Rwanda.
This comes as the group decried continued stigma rendered to them by government officials rendered to them in different entities which include: Denial to get passports, national IDs, opening up bank accounts, and obtaining loans.
The chairperson of the Council for Banyarwanda Dr. Lawrence Muganga said the group can not even get the opportunity to join security forces and exercise their patriotic duty.
“Some of us can not get SIM Cards, open up bank accounts or even acquire loans,” Muganga said.
These also decried the arrest of many of their colleagues being accused of spying on the country.
Jacob Siminyu, the Spokesperson of Immigrations said dismissed reports that Banyarwanda born in Uganda are being discriminated against during passport issuance.
“We verify citizenship per individual, we can not verify the entire family and say we can see you are all Baganda,” Siminyu said.
Banywaranda are recognized as a tribe in Uganda according to the 1995 constitution.
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