Former Makerere University Vice Chancellor Prof. Venansius Baryamureeba has criticised Parliament’s handling of the dual citizenship question during the vetting of ministerial nominees, saying the Appointments Committee should have applied the law strictly without considering future outcomes of renunciation processes.
His remarks come amid heated debate following the rejection of Dr Lawrence Muganga’s nomination for State Minister over dual citizenship concerns, alongside scrutiny of several other nominees, including diplomats and technocrats who reportedly held or previously held foreign citizenship.
Prof. Baryamureeba argued that Parliament had no legal basis to “predict compliance” from foreign governments or anticipate changes in status after vetting.
He maintained that the law required strict application at the point of assessment.
“All this is irrelevant. What Parliament should have done is to follow the law. It does not matter whether one has two, three or even 100 citizenships,” he said.
“At the time of vetting by the Parliamentary Appointments Committee, all those that were dual citizens should have been rejected. Parliament cannot take decisions in anticipation of Canada, USA or Rwanda accepting the application for renunciation of citizenship. What if the application is rejected or the applicant later withdraws the application? Similarly, one cannot make a decision in anticipation of an amendment of the law.”
His comments highlight a growing legal and constitutional debate triggered by the recent vetting exercise chaired by Speaker Jacob Oboth-Oboth and Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa, where dual citizenship emerged as a key point of contention.
Reports from Parliament indicated that some nominees had presented evidence showing they had initiated or completed renunciation of foreign citizenship, a factor that influenced their approval.
Among those cleared were Ambassador Adonia Ayebare and Calvin Echodu, who were said to have demonstrated compliance with the requirements.
However, Dr Lawrence Muganga’s nomination was blocked after the committee reportedly established that he still held links to multiple citizenships at the time of vetting, raising concerns about eligibility under existing constitutional interpretations.