Kampala
  21/11/07
 
70 RWANDAN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN UGANDA ARE ROUNDED UP BY IMMIGRATION OFFICIALS.

By Leo Odera Omolo The Ugandan government has rounded up close to 70 aliens who illegally acquired its passports.

The action was taken by the directorate of immigration and citizenship, which has in the past one month netted at least 70 Rwandans.

Some of the Rwandans who hold Rwanda passports were also arrested while attempting to obtain Ugandan passports, according to Miss Eunice Kisembo the immigration spokesman.

She was reacting over a report in the local dailies that immigration officials subjected Banyarwanda who applied for passports to special body-checks, adding that the allegations were simply diversionary.

‘’The directorate of immigration has stepped up service delivery to meet the expectation of the public,’’ Ms Kisembo said. These include stepping up immigration monitoring, surveillance and efficiency in passport processing.

‘’Some of the Banyarwanda have fallen victims of forgery,’’ Ms Kisembo said.

She said that some of the Banyarwandas who hold Rwandan passports were rushing to acquire Ugandan passports but ‘’they have been frustrated by our surveillance.

On November 10, Dr Ephraim Kamuchangira the chairman of Umbano, an association of Banyarwanda living in Uganda, told the parliamentary select committee investigating the issue of Balaalo pastoralists that Banyarwanda girls who apply for Ugandan passports were taken to isolation rooms for body checks.

He alleged that the shapes of their (girls) bottom had turned into an important determination of whether they were Ugandans or not.

But Ms Kisembo says Dr. Kamuchangira made wildest allegations in order to win public sympathy and divert the public from real ‘’crimes’’ committed by some of the Banyarwanda aliens.

She said some time back, a rebel leader from Rwanda was found to have obtained a Ugandan passport.

‘’We have raised our checks and now require them to appear in person, she said.