By this move, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has made a giant step to safe guard the citizenship rights of Ugandans as he issued an executive order effective to take into account various complaints on passports and identifications.

It came into force on January 24, 2025, due to the unfair treatment during the process of proving Ugandan citizenship and many other struggles that applicants usually face.

President Museveni said he had received several complaints regarding the kind of treatment accorded to some Ugandans while applying for passports. Many applicants face difficulties, more so when officials question their citizenship status instead of following the clear legal guidelines.

The problem started to gain headlines arising from complaints by Ugandan nationals from the Banyarwanda tribe. Most, if not all, were born and raised in Uganda but raised complaints on passport acquisition and national IDs, with some citing discrimination and unequal treatment by immigration forces.

However, the President insisted that the Constitution of Uganda of 1995 under Chapter 3 had already defined citizenship with three categories, including by birth, by registration, and by naturalization. As he had argued, the problem was not in the law itself but in how it is applied by the relevant authorities.

On how these issues must be addressed, the President gave a couple of important directives. He added that every Ugandan has a right to a passport or travel document and should be allowed to enter or leave the country without much inconvenience, as long as this was not contrary to the law. He directed that officers in the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control strictly followed Section 40 of the Citizenship and Immigration Control Act. The only condition for verification is the National Identification Number in addition to any other requirement prescribed by the board.

President Museveni added that all the procedures, which relate to proving citizenship administratively, should remain decent. He called upon the officials to stop laying before the applicant extra requirements since what they need is that the requirement laid in the law is met.

“Immigration officers should know this: Citizenship by birth is inherent. It’s not something that they give out to people; it’s a right,” said the President. “There should always be a presumption of citizenship unless there is solid and reliable evidence proving otherwise.”

The President addressed another critical issue: under the current law, children of citizens by birth and naturalization are not automatic citizens themselves, which he said should be corrected and directed that the Minister of Internal Affairs and the Attorney General take immediate steps to amend the law to remove this flaw.

He further warned that National Identity cards issued by National Identification and Registration Authority-NIRA should not be seized or revoked by any immigration officer unless it is supported with due process of the law.

This Executive Order is expected to bring relief to many Ugandans who have faced challenges while acquiring their national documents. The President hopes to restore confidence in the system and protect the rights of all citizens by ensuring fairness in the way all applicants are treated under the law.

With this strict directive, Ugandans should now expect smoother, more dignified processes in acquiring such important documents as passports and national IDs. The move consolidates the government’s stance on protecting every citizen’s right to have administrative processes serve them rather than vice versa.