Seeking identity, Rwandans in Uganda decry discrimination

By Godfrey Olukya

KAMPALA, Uganda (AA) - Despite living in Uganda for decades, the Rwandan community still complains of marginalization and mistreatment by the state and people of other tribes.

Landlocked East African countries, Rwanda and Uganda share their borders. When colonialists were drawing boundaries for their colonies, some Rwandan settlements ended up on the Ugandan side. Those left on the Ugandan side are called Rwandans just like those in the state of Rwanda.

According to Uganda’s Bureau of Statistics, there are 1 million Rwandans in Uganda mostly living in the country’s west. However, Uganda also hosts 25,000 Rwandan refugees with the biggest number living in Orucinga, Kyaka, and Nakivale refugee camps.

“Although the boundaries were made over a century ago, some elements in the government and citizens look at us as foreigners. That is unfortunate and should be brought to an end,” said Pecos Kamali, a Rwandan leader in the central Ugandan district of Mubende.

The Rwandans in Uganda complain that authorities in Uganda no longer give them passports. “As Ugandans, we are entitled to getting passports like any other citizen in the country. But without giving any reason the immigration department stopped issuing passports to Rwandans in Uganda,” said Enock Kakuru, a Rwandan student at Kampala University.

He said the Rwandan community living in Uganda held a meeting on Aug. 24 and held a news conference in Kampala where they voiced their concerns about immigration officers at the Ministry of Internal Affairs denying them passports.

- Indigenous community

A Rwandan lawyer in Uganda, Peter Akaliza, said all the mistreatment and rights abuses are going on despite the fact Rwandans are listed as “number 24 tribe” in the Ugandan constitution.

Uganda has about 50 tribes listed in the constitution.

“The Rwandans are listed as an indigenous community in Uganda,” Akaliza said.

Some Rwandans in Uganda want to change the name of their tribe to “Bavandimwe” so that they no longer be attached in any way to the neighboring state of Rwanda, but others are opposing it.

Those who support the move formed an organization called “the Council for Abavandimwe” which seeks to rename their tribe on the ground that they are being segregated especially when trying to acquire documents like passports and national identity cards.

- Identity denial

One of the main advocates of the move and an outspoken rights activist and successful businessman, Frank Gashumba, told Anadolu Agency: “There is a difference between Rwandans and Rwandan community living in Uganda. It is unfortunate that some people, including some journalists, cannot differentiate between the two.”

Gashumba wonders why the Rwandans are so much considered as Ugandans during elections and given voter slips, but denied passports by the Interior Ministry.

Speaking to the press in Kampala recently, he said export labor companies have stopped them from applying for jobs abroad because they are aware that they will not be given passports.

He said: “Rwandans can’t get phone sim cards or acquire land titles or buy vehicles in their names. Some have been able to secure scholarships abroad but can’t go for studies because they do not have national identity cards.”

He said that one of the principal immigration officers filed a case in court blocking him from talking about the continued discrimination against Rwandans at the immigration offices. “We are Ugandans just like others. We are being discriminated against by some government officials, although we are born here and we pay taxes,” Gashumba asked.

Hasifah Kikazia, a nurse in Mukono district, said the government exploits Rwandans, adding: “During elections, they look for our votes, but after elections they abandon us.”

Thomas Mahoro, a Rwandan farmer in the central Ugandan district of Gomba, said: “My son could not get a passport, though he got a scholarship to study in the UK. He cannot go because he does not have a passport.”

But some Rwandans are opposed to the idea of changing their tribe’s name from Rwandans to Bavandimwe. Among those protesting are mostly living in the central Ugandan districts of Gomba, Masaka, and Mubende.

One of the leaders of those protesting the move, William Nkuziza, said there is no need of changing their tribe’s name. He said: “Why to change the tribe’s name. It is not necessary. If done, it can lead to conflicts within ourselves. Many of us and our forefathers have lived here for a long time and have been known as Rwandans. Why should we change to be called Bavandimwe now?”

- Government to probe ‘marginalization’

A senior member of the ruling National Resistance Movement, Felix Wakayima, said: “I do not think Rwandans are being harassed in Uganda. Ugandan Rwandans are just like other Ugandans. However, the government is going to investigate the allegations that Rwandans in Uganda are being marginalized.”

A Rwandan doctor in Kampala, Denis Uwimbabazi, said that the poor relationship between Uganda and Rwanda also contribute to their being harassed in Uganda. He said: “When the relationship between the two countries was good, we lived amicably with all other tribes in the country. But now we are looked at as spies working for Rwanda.”

In the last two years, Rwanda and Uganda have had a nasty relationship which led to the closure of the border between the two countries.