MP Lutanywa granted leave to introduce Constitutional Amendment Bill

Kampala, Uganda  | THE INDEPENDENT | Parliament has granted leave to Jack Lutanywa, the Kibanda South Member of Parliament to introduce a Private Member’s Bill, the Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2020.

Lutanywa said that there was need to recognize the Maragoli as one of the indigenous tribes in Uganda by amending and including them in the Constitution.

The Maragoli community living in Kigumba in Kiryandongo district, Ntoma and other parts of Masindi district are a Kenyan tribe that left their homeland in the 1920’s. Reports indicate that they moved from Kenya after an agreement was reached between the then British colonial government and Bunyoro -Kitara Kingdom.

Lutanywa expressed concern that the Maragoli who have been in existent in Uganda were never included in the Third Schedule of the Constitution as one of the country’s indigenous communities as of 1st February 1926. He noted that the Maragoli people have since the 1990’s sought for the inclusion in the Constitution through petitions to MPs, ministers, different department ministries and the President.

Lutanywa said that the Maragoli in Kiryandongo district alone number over 30,000 people and that they have suffered for a long time since they are not recognized and therefore cannot access some social services like acquiring the National Identity Card, process Passports and others.

In 2017, the National Identification Registration Agency (NIRA) held onto 15,000 national identity cards of members of the Maragoli community on grounds that they are not a recognized tribe in Uganda.

He appealed for Parliament’s support to help his constituents acquire recognition in the Constitution.

Elizabeth Karungi, the Kanungu Woman MP supported the motion saying that it is long overdue to recognize the Maragoli people.

The Speaker Rebecca Kadaga said that the people of Maragoli have approached her several times and that it was time for Parliament to discuss their views.

However, Erute South MP Odur Jonathan raised a procedural point saying that parliament did not have the required quorum to process a matter as important as amending the Constitution.

However, Kadaga ruled him out saying that what was being discussed on the floor was a motion seeking leave to introduce a Bill but not a discussion on the merits of the Bill. She then granted Lutanywa leave to introduce the Bill.

The Maragoli sometimes referred to as Logoli or AvaLogooli, are the second-largest tribe of the 6 million-strong Luhya community in Kenya, after the Bukusu. The dialect they speak is called Llogoli, Urulogoli, or Maragoli. Some of the Maragoli clans include the Gonda, Mavi, Sachi, Saniaga, Vulughi, Ndega, Sari”, Ng’ang’ a and Yonga.

Chapter three of the 1995 Constitution provides for citizenship under Articles 9 to 19, where it provides for citizenship by birth, adoption, registration and naturalization among others. The Third Schedule to the constitution provides a list of 65 indigenous communities whose members qualify for citizenship by birth because such communities were living in Uganda as at February 1, 1926.

******

URN