By George Bukenya
The Ugandan Banyarwanda under their Umbrella Association UMUBANO has elected their new leadership Committee as they are fighting to be reorganized as real citizens in the country contitutionary.
The new committee that will steer their interests is headed by Simon Kaitana and the former chairman Donald Kananura is now the Pioneer Patron and heads the Board of Trustees while Frank Sserubiri the deputy chief Muzzukulu of President Museveni will be representing all Banyarwanda working in government.
The new leadership committee that show representatives drawn from all regions of the Country where the Banyarwanda hail from will serve for a period of two years.
The new chairman Kaitana while addressing the media just after his election in their Annual General Assembly at Musa Courts Apartments in Kampala said that the new leadership will help foster their interests like seeking the amendment of the constitution allow the Banyarwanda be treated just like other Ugandans when it comes to acquisition of National Identification Documents like the IDs and Passport without segregation.
“We have been moving the whole of Uganda meeting our stake holders sensitizing them about the need to amend Article 10 which the authority like Immigration and NIRA have been using to deny Banyarwanda essential documents such as National IDs and Passport,’’ Kaitana said.
He added: “There’s a way that Article segregates us as Ugandan Banyarwanda by subjecting us to the Ministry of Internal Affairs policy to prove beyond reasonable doubt in case of seeking such national documents that one of either parents was here and living with the said community by 1926,’’ he explained.
Kaitana who also represent the Banyarwanda on the Buganda Lukiiko said that he will start by uniting and reconciling all the Rwandan community who have been embedded in wrangles.
The lawyer of the Association Fred Mukasa Mbidde who performed the swearing in ceremony of the incoming committee said that Article 10 of Uganda’s constitution contravenes the international law like the Universal Declaration of Fundamental Human Rights, the African Charter on Human and People’s rights among others.
“ The Banyarwanda Community Association committee constitutes the Executive members who will foster networking capacity and information flow to their members living in all parts of the country and in the Diaspora,’’ Mbidde said.
He also said such leadership will also be at village, county and District level to allow the free flow of information.
“ Now that the Executive Committee have been constituted, vigorous campaign on the necessity by government to amend Article 10 of the Uganda’s Constitution will take centre stage because such Article is alien,’’ Mbidde asserted.
Frank Sserubiri said that the committee a part from pushing the interests of Ugandan Banyarwanda, will also help government in mobilization of the community where they live participate in developments activities.
He said that President Museveni have been meeting a cocoon of people headed by Frank Gashumba who purportedly have been claiming that they are representing the interest of Banyarwanda in Uganda whereas mad sliding others. He explained that this will stop after the constituting of the new committee.