28/7/2026
President Museveni has formally nominated Juma Witonze for appointment as Minister of State for Internal Affairs, replacing Dr. Lawrence Muganga, whose candidature was rejected by Parliament’s Appointments Committee over multiple citizenship concerns
The presidential communication nominating Witonze was transmitted to Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Monday, paving the way for his vetting before lawmakers.
“It’s true. He has now been officially nominated as minister,” a senior government source confirmed skynewsug.com.
Vetting will happen as soon as possible,” the source added.
Witonze’s nomination follows weeks of consultations within government after Parliament declined to approve Muganga’s candidature on grounds of multiple citizenships and his failure to provide documentary evidence that he had initiated the formal renunciation process when he appeared before the committee.
Muganga’s nomination was subsequently referred back to President Museveni as the appointing authority.
Skynewsug.com was the first news outlet to report that Museveni had settled on Witonze as his preferred replacement, citing sources familiar with the President’s consultations
Witonze, a prominent mobiliser within the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU), has been serving as the movement’s Greater Mpigi regional coordinator and has been actively involved in political mobilisation across the central regions
His nomination comes at a time when the Ministry of Internal Affairs remains at the centre of government efforts to address citizenship and national identification issues, particularly following recent reforms aimed at streamlining access to national identity cards and passports for eligible Ugandans.
Under Uganda’s Constitution, ministerial nominees must be vetted and approved by Parliament’s Appointments Committee before they can be sworn into office by the President.
