A section of Banyarwanda living in greater Masaka has come out to criticize a decision by another group of people led by Frank Gashumba to rename the Banyarwanda tribe as gazetted in the national constitution to Bavandiwe, a Kinyarwanda word meaning brotherhood.
Gashumba, born in Villa Maria, Kalungu district in Masaka sub-region last week together with a section of colleagues under the association ” Council for Banyarwanda” declared that all Banyarwanda in Uganda will be referred to as Bavandimwe.
“From today onwards do not call me Munywarwanda I am a Muvandimwe,” Frank Gashumba said.
Frank Gashumba and his allies who are Banyarwanda by origin believe that changing the name to Bavandimwe will save them from discrimination from both the state and people they live with.
“Our children have been denied the chance to possess some national documents like passports and national IDs because they are Banyarwanda,” Gashumba revealed.
However, according to a group of Banyarwanda from greater Masaka, they believe that Gashumba and his colleagues are trying to play political games through trying to fight for the rights of Banywarwanda
Ruth Komugisha the LC.5 councilor for Kyamuliibwa sub-county, also one of the Banyarwanda leaders in the Masaka sub-region refutes allegations by Gashumba that they are being denied the chance to acquire national documents like passports and National IDs.
Komugisha says that since some of their children study abroad and going there you must be in possession of a passport that rules out the allegation by the so-called Council for Banyaranda that Banyarwanda are not allowed to get national documents.
“I have a national ID and Passport and I didn’t pay any single coin to get them,” Komugisha said.
Banyarwanda in greater Masaka also revealed that for decades they have been living in harmony with other tribes in Uganda with no one discriminating against them.
” Our grandparents settled in Uganda for now almost a century how come that they were welcomed by past rulers and discriminated against by the current regime” Muhabwe James, Kalungu District Speaker.
Even before the demarcation of national boundaries by Britain colonial masters, Banyarwanda have been residents of Uganda, and this forced the Ugandan government to Gazzet Banyarwanda as of the tribes of Uganda during the 1995 constitution review.
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