The governments of South Sudan and Uganda have raised concerns over multiple identification and citizenship within the two countries which jeopardise efforts to consolidate cross-border security and perpetuate the tension.
The two sisterly countries have also continued to raise concerns about rampant incidences of insecurity along the Kaya border, the Uganda daily newspaper reported yesterday.
According to Mr. Bosco Wani, the Executive Director of Morobo County in Central Equatoria State, some suspects at the border of Kaya can cross to South Sudan with Ugandan identity cards and when they commit crimes; they run back claiming they are Ugandans.
“We have our brothers along these borders who cross to work in South Sudan with Ugandan identity cards and when they reach there, they claim to be South Sudanese. And when they are caught up in problems, they run back to Uganda that they are Ugandans,” he said.
He said citizens travelling from any of the two countries should be well-identified at the border by the local leaders and be given permits so that it becomes easy to track them.
The Koboko Resident District Commissioner, Mr Emmy Mitala, observed that the situation is tricky to deal with because of the nature of the location of the district and the numerous porous border points.
“We understand that there are people who have two to three identities, one for Uganda, one for South Sudan and one for DR Congo. This makes it tricky for us to implement certain things. And they speak the same language in those three countries,” he said.
According to the Uganda’s Refugee Desk officer of Arua in the Office of the Prime Minister, Mr Solomon Osakan, the practice of dual citizenship is legal according to the laws of Uganda adding that some of the criminal gangs disguise themselves as refugees from South Sudan.
“You know people who reside along the borders and have relatives across the other side can do funny things. They can register in Uganda and the other country, so they have dual citizenship. That is why we had requested the government to allow us to run the data of National Identity cards together with the refugee identity cards so that we see who has double registration,” he said.
Border breaches
The two countries have endured endless border tension with Ugandan forces being blamed as the consistent aggressors.
For instance, September this year, a lawmaker representing Kajo Keji County in Central Equatoria State complained over alleged deployment of the Ugandan People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) in the border areas.
James Duku claimed the UPDF had evicted South Sudanese from the areas and prevented movements on both sides of the border.
This prompted the National Assembly to quickly summon the national ministers charged with diplomatic issues and security to come to the Parliament and explain their efforts in addressing the matter.
The Speaker of Parliament, Jemma Nunu Kumba, emphasized that the ministers of interior (Angelina Teny), Defense (Chol Balok), foreign affairs (Pitia Morgan) are to answer queries on the issue of the South Sudan-Uganda border tension.
“This motion requests that the Government of South Sudan urgently engage the Government of Uganda through Presidential or Diplomatic mechanisms to de-escalate the current security situation and carnage, as well as to determine the right of ancestral ownership lands claimed by the Ma’di and Aringa people of Uganda along the South Sudan-Uganda border for permanent settlement of the land issues prior to the completion of the final delimitation and demarcation of the border,” Duku who tabled the motion argued.
Earlier this month, a South Sudanese media reported that the Uganda President Yoweri Museveni send two ministers to Yumbe and Moyo districts to address the border issues. This came in the wake of negotiations with a committee formed by the Central Equatoria State governor Emmanuel Adil, which reached a deal with Ugandan authorities to hand over 13 arrested Ugandans in exchange of the chief of Bori Boma of Kajo-Keji County. By , The City Review
