Muslim leaders to support national identity card project

By Mathias Mazinga  

The minister of Internal Affairs, Gen. Aronda Nyakairima has asked leaders of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council to support the national identity card project. 

Addressing Muslim District Khadis at Gadaffi National Mosque in Old Kampala Nyakairima said national identity cards would help reduce crime and also enhance security and development.

“Today the world is interconnected. We live in globalised village. If you go to airports like Entebbe, Nairobi or Heathrow, you will realise that the movement of people is greater than ever.  

“We need secure and reliable identification of our people to get better organised to deal with security,” said Nyakairima.  

He added that under the East African Community arrangement, there is need for free movement of goods, services and people. 

“If we have national identity cards, even the suspicion and mistrust in our local communities will diminish,” he emphasised. 

Nyakairima later assured the clerics and the general public that the identity cards would be dependable because they will be made using the most sophisticated technology. Adding that the project, which kicks off on Monday April 14, will last four months and is aimed at making sure all Ugandans aged 18 and over are registered.

The Muslim clerics, through Dr. Abdul Kadir Balonde (the Chairman of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council) commended government for establishing a good working relationship with the leadership of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council. 

They further assured the minister that they would use their structures, throughout the country, to help government accomplish the national identity card project.