Abavandimwe Community Pledges  total Support to Museveni’s Presidential Re-election Bid

By Elijah Khisa

POLITICS

The Abavandimwe community in Uganda has commended the president for his recent directive urging the National identification and registration authority [NIRA] to allow them access both passport as a travel document and the national identity card given that they are part and parcel of the indigenous Ugandan community.

The community under the leadership of their council chairman Frank Gashumba told  a press conference at Serena hotel 20^th August 2025 that they are  officially pledging  their  commitment to rally behind president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni in the forthcoming 2026 general elections by mobilizing citizens to canvass political support in appreciation for recognizing their rights.

Gashumba accompanied by dozens of his excited members of the Bavendimwe observed that the entire community had reached a unanimous decision to support the candidature of President Museveni as a gesture of gratitude and appreciation for his efforts in recognizing the fundamental human rights of these people.  

The development stems from a recent presidential executive order No 3 of 2025 which directed the ministry of internal affairs to stop the discriminatory practices of denying all the indigenous communities who include the Bavendimwe access to Uganda travel documents and National identity cards.

“For a long time, our community of Bavendimwe faced deep rooted discrimination while many of us were openly named as Banyarwanda yet we are indigenous Ugandans whose roots are firmly embedded in this beloved country of ours’, he noted.

‘When president Musevni heard about our cries, he acted decisively and today the order has been implemented to its fullest and our dignity restored’ explained Gashumba.

The directive has effectively mandated the ministry of internal affairs to immediately grant both travel documents and national Id for these communities.

He said effective next month  they would traverse the country convincing the citizens to vote for Museveni for his wise decision which has finally eased  tensions which have brewed for time immemorial between them and several government agencies especially security which had become a hard rock in their hearts. 

The Bavandimwe are listed among the Ugandan tribes in the constitution of 1995.