Dual citizens have equal rights

Dual citizenship holders have equal rights and opportunities like other Rwandan nationals, Venancie Tugirayezu, the Minister in the Presidents office has said. There is absolutely every reason for you to feel at home because we all have the same opportunities to enjoy in the country while striving to contribbute to Rwandas development, Tugirayezu said. She was speaking at an interactive ceremony organised by the Directorate of Immigration and Emmigration for Rwandan dual citizenship holders. During the function, held in Kigali, discussions between government officials and the dual citizenship holders took place, as well as a tree planting excercise, under the auspices of Umuganda. Umuganda is one of Rwandas successful home grown initiatives that involve citizens carrying out communal work to make the environs a better place and improve their well being of the people.Tugireyezu pointed out the need to foster unity and partnership among Rwandans so as to feel more integrated because dual citizens are neither inferior nor should they be treated as second class citizens. At the same function, local government minister James Musoni challenged them to use their external connections to contribute to the development of the country. “There must be so many opportunities in your countries of origin which you should exploit to empower our development programmes,” Musoni said. Available statistics indicate that 96 foreigners have so far been accorded Rwandan citizenship since 2008 when the law permitting this was enacted. More than half of them are either from Burundi or the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). On his part, Anaclet Kalibata, the chief of the Directorate of Immigration and Emigration, pointed out that acquiring duo citizenship had been marred by gender irregularities but this is no more. “The trend has now changed. Whether men or women, all people are entitled to our citizenship as long as they qualify,” he said. Willy Fabre, a Belgian-turned-Rwandan, said that it has been a very good experience since 1957 when he first came to Rwanda. “Even when I left years later, I lived like a Rwandan refugee in exile until I came back in 2003 and I received a very warm welcome,” he said. He noted that Rwanda deserves an international accolade for its tremendous achievements in integrating foreigners into the Rwandan local community.