National Identity Card registration; A Swell of Nationalism

By Arthur Mwenkanya Katabalwa

Museveni Registers For The National Identity Card.

There is a certain level of cynicism that we all possess as a general public. In the last few months we have seen a number of issues come up in the media that have shaken our confidence in The Government of The Republic of Uganda. A few people have tried to protest at the inadequacies that they see the government possesses by not singing the anthem. But queuing up to register for the national identity card brings out that latent pride in one of their country.

The national identity card programme has been in the offing for several years. Our government has poured billions of shillings in it, we have seen failed computers and heard of corrupt officers who try and make people pay for this service when it is actually free of charge. But across the country the exercise, in my view, is going well, albeit a bit behind schedule.

I am not entirely sure about the finer points as to why one needs an identity card. Some countries in Europe like Germany has required its citizens to own one. In fact I have seen them flash them at border crossings at Calais and at Ibiza airport while I fidgetted with my passport. I understand that one will be able to travel within the East African Community countries with just that identity card which surely can’t be a bad thing.

The Identity cards will compliment passports.

In the Queue at a non-descript nursery school near the UWESO offices in Kitante/Kamwokya, I detected a huge swell of pride in Uganda. People were patiently waiting for their turn with the officers. Most of us could recite where we came from. I could remember where my father and my grandfather were born down to the sub county. And that made me feel very Ugandan. Very proud of this green, lush, dusty, beautiful country full of amazing people and the food is all fresh.

A family from Lewisham, South London was standing in front of me. The father John, his wife and three grown up children have flown in to Uganda just for this one hour long moment. The daughter, Kirabo 17, has only “holiday memories” of Uganda. She is basically as English as they come but the feeling of belonging to her ancestral home was overwhelming. “Dad has always brought us back to Uganda to see family in Kanyanya. I have a Ugandan passport but having an ID will make me feel further Ugandan” she said in a South London drawl. “We may never stay in Uganda permanently but we are never abroad in Uganda. We are home.”

To the surprise of many people, I included, a Chinese family was also patiently waiting in the queue. They could hardly string a word of coherent English between them but clutched Ugandan passports so tightly their hands were white from the pressure. I failed to speak to them but from the looks on their faces I could see that they were making that transition as well as dual citizens of both Uganda and China.

We are all Ugandans. All of us who may live abroad in Europe or America, whether we have been born elsewhere, hold dual citizenship or whatever, we are all Ugandans and very proud to be! This is a national duty to all. Forget about the politics, this is for our motherland, Uganda.