The Parliamentary Appointments Committee Rejects Muganga Nomination Over Citizenship Questions

By Skika Reporter

The Parliamentary Appointments Committee has rejected the nomination of Victoria University Vice Chancellor Dr. Lawrence Muganga for the position of Minister of State for Internal Affairs after he reportedly failed to satisfactorily address concerns regarding his citizenship status.

The development was revealed on Monday by Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa while briefing journalists on behalf of the Appointments Committee. Tayebwa said the committee had vetted 82 ministerial nominees, approving 80, while one nominee had not yet appeared before the committee and another raised issues requiring further review by the appointing authority.

“We have approved 80 out of the 82 ministerial nominees. One is still pending because he has not yet appeared before the committee, and another one we found issues, which we are going to communicate to the appointing authority to look into, and then they are going to take the final say,” Tayebwa said.

Although Tayebwa did not identify the nominee, sources familiar with the vetting process indicated that the individual in question was Dr. Muganga, whose nomination has attracted public scrutiny over allegations that he holds multiple citizenships.

According to sources present during the closed-door vetting session, the committee’s due diligence process established links between Muganga and Ugandan, Canadian, and Rwandan citizenship. Members reportedly requested evidence demonstrating that he had formally renounced any foreign citizenships that could conflict with constitutional and legal requirements for ministerial office.

While the committee was reportedly satisfied with explanations concerning allegations of Rwandan citizenship, questions remained regarding documentation related to the renunciation of other foreign citizenships.

“The committee took time to examine the matter because Internal Affairs is a sensitive ministry dealing with citizenship, immigration, passports and national identification,” a source familiar with the proceedings said.

The issue of dual citizenship has dominated public discussion surrounding Muganga’s nomination in recent weeks. Legal experts, academics, and retired military officers have pointed to provisions of the Uganda Citizenship and Immigration Control Act that restrict holders of dual citizenship from occupying certain state offices.

During the same briefing, Tayebwa disclosed that the committee encountered several other nominees with dual citizenship concerns but found that most had provided sufficient evidence confirming they had formally renounced their foreign citizenships.

“We did a verification with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and we discovered that we had three colleagues who had dual citizenship and one colleague who had multiple citizenship,” Tayebwa said.

“We have looked at it extensively and four of them had records renouncing their citizenship in the other countries.”

He praised the affected nominees for what he described as a difficult but patriotic decision.

“They have taken a step of choosing Uganda above all. Especially painful decisions. Some of these people have families in those countries. Whatever they make from those countries, they send back to Uganda. But they took the painful decision of renouncing those countries, so we considered that and appreciated them for being patriotic,” he added.

Sources indicated that among those who successfully addressed the committee’s concerns were Foreign Affairs Minister-designate Adonia Ayebare and State Minister-designate for International Affairs nominee Calvin Echodu, both of whom reportedly submitted documentation related to the renunciation of foreign citizenship.

Muganga has previously acknowledged holding both Ugandan and Canadian citizenship, maintaining that acquiring another nationality does not diminish his commitment to Uganda.

“Before I came here, I definitely had two citizenships — that’s the Ugandan citizenship and the Canadian citizenship,” Muganga told reporters after appearing before the committee.

“Many Ugandans do that. But that does not take away one’s love for the country. I am Ugandan. Uganda is my country.”

The committee’s findings are expected to be formally communicated to President Yoweri Museveni, who will make the final decision on the future of Muganga’s nomination.