MPs approve appointment of Juma Kisekka as state minister for Internal Affairs

What the report says

Parliament’s appointments committee has approved Juma Witonze Kisekka for appointment as minister of State for Internal Affairs, according to The Observer. The vetting took place on Thursday and followed President Yoweri Museveni’s nomination of Kisekka about three days earlier. The committee was chaired by Speaker Jacob Marksons Oboth-Oboth and included Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa plus lawmakers from both government and opposition benches.

The report now goes back to the President before Kisekka can be formally appointed and sworn in. The move fills a vacancy in a ministry that oversees the Uganda Police Force, Prisons Service, immigration and citizenship functions, national identification, and internal security coordination. The Observer said a committee member described Kisekka as having impressed legislators during the closed-door hearing.

Kisekka replaces Dr Lawrence Muganga, whose nomination was rejected after concerns about his citizenship status. The article placed that decision in the wider context of parliamentary scrutiny of nominees with dual citizenship, noting that constitutional rules restrict holders of dual or multiple citizenship from certain public offices unless they have renounced the other nationality.

The Observer said Kisekka has a background in business, diplomacy and political mobilisation, including work as a special envoy to Bahrain on trade and investment and as a ruling National Resistance Movement official in Gomba district. Once formally appointed, he will serve under Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu.