Aronda tells immigration board to resign

By Paul Kiwuuwa

KAMPALA - The Minister of Internal Affairs, Gen. Aronda Nyakairima, has hit back at the National Citizenship and Immigration Board members for alleging that his leadership style is militaristic.

Last Thursday, the officials, led by the acting board chairperson, Beatrice Byenkya, told Parliament’s defence committee that their working relationship with Aronda has not been rosy, leading to clashes.

Byenkya claimed that whereas the board tries to adhere to the law, the minister sometimes wants things done otherwise.

However, Aronda told the committee on Tuesday that whoever feels like not working should quit.

 “Those officials, who feel they cannot work with me and cannot afford to attend weekend meetings, should resign,” he said.

‘Baseless rumours’

According to Byenkya, the minister always instructs his aide to call board members for meetings on weekends without prior notice.

“If we fail to attend, he says we do not respect him. Sometimes he calls for board meetings at night (10:00pm) or late on Fridays, yet we do not all live in Kampala. When we do not come, he says we want to fail him,” she said last week.

However, Aronda’s response was stern.

“I scoff at the board, who accuse me of being militaristic. They do not understand how the military operates. Those are baseless rumours.

“I do not carry a gun or stick to the meetings. Our meetings require urgency. So we can have them on weekends.”

The minister appeared before the committee with state internal affairs minister James Baba, the ministry’s permanent secretary, Dr. Stephen Kagoda and other officials.

He explained that the ministry has a target to ensure that by February 27, 2015, the first batch of the national identity cards are issued.

“This calls for dedication and attending board meetings is part of this.”

Arounda further said that the task of printing the national IDs is under the National Security Information Systems, but done in collaboration with other bodies that will benefit from the data such as the National Information Technology Authority, Uganda Bureau of Statistics and Electoral Commission.

He wondered how these organisations work with him without complaining if he was militaristic.

“They do not complain. They even attend the weekend meetings. The problem with the Immigration Control Board is that they do not understand the nature of our work. They need to be trained to understand the urgency of the work.”

Meanwhile, Baba told the MPs that Byenkya is just fighting personal wars for personal gain and cheap popularity, adding that she cannot accuse Aronda of being militaristic.

Kagoda said: “The board is not honest. We have involved them in our work from the beginning. Both the ministry and the board appeared before the Solicitor General to sign the agreement on the methods of work.”

The committee, chaired by Benny Namugwanya (Mubende Woman MP), resolved that the ICB and internal affairs ministry officials need the intervention of the Attorney General, Peter Nyombi, to interpret the laws under which the duo should operate.