Report on Citizenship Law: Uganda Ugandan citizenship in the case a Ugandan is to acquire the citizenship of another country, in addition to permitting non-Ugandan citizens to apply and receive Ugandan citizenship while retaining the citizenship of their origin countries.37 The 2009 revisions to UCICA then inserted new sections 19A to 19G into the act, providing a highly elaborated set of rules around the conditions under which it is possible to hold dual citizenship. These include giving notice to the National Citizenship and Immigration Board that the person wishes to apply for another citizenship; or, if applying for citizenship, evidence that the other country permits dual citizenship, and a range of other conditions that are not applied to a person seeking to register as Ugandan while not retaining another citizenship. The rules also establish no more than one other citizenship may be held together with Ugandan citizenship. In addition, the 2009 amendments establish an extensive list of state offices that may not be held by persons with dual citizenship (Section 19D and fifth schedule added to the principal act). 4. Current Debate and Reforms 4.1 Ethnic Basis for Citizenship Uganda’s colonial boundaries established in the context of the European “Scramble for Africa” are arbitrary, and there are cross-border communities residing in its neighbouring countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Rwanda, and Kenya. The 1995 Constitution added another layer of complication in defining the right to citizenship in Ugandan by explicitly identifying ethnic communities whose ancestors were of indigenous origin to Uganda and were therefore entitled to citizenship by birth. This is noted in the Third Schedule of Article 10(a), which identifies Uganda’s ethnic communities based on the demarcation of Uganda’s borders as of the 1st of February 1926. Based on schedule three, one has access to jus soli citizenship if their parents or grandparents "is or was a member of any of the indigenous communities existing and residing within the borders of Uganda as at the first day of February 1926". This excludes, for example, Europeans and those of Asian descent who resided in Uganda prior to its independence, and are deemed ineligible based on this provision. The Constitution (Amendment) Act, 2005 amended the Third Schedule of the 1995 Constitution by inserting additional communities considered indigenous based on the stated February 1926 standard, bringing the total number to sixty-five, who are eligible to attain citizenship based on the same guidelines. During the negotiations of the 1995 Constitution, Uganda’s Asians community attempted to advocate for their recognition as an indigenous community. 38 To date, they are not recognized, alongside other communities, some of which are highlighted in the sub-sections below. 37 The Constitution (Amendment) Act, 2005. United States Department of Justice. https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2014/09/10/constitution_amendment2005.pdf (accessed 14 December 2018). 38 Bronwen, Manby, Citizenship in Africa: the Law of Belonging. Hart Publishing, 2018, chapter 7.3. RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2020/8 - © 2020 Author 11