Koborer
JF-Expert Member
- Apr 6, 2012
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An ambitious drive by the Ugandan government to document all its citizens and provide national identity cards could be scuttled by some religious movements who claim it is satanic.
Several religious leaders, suspected of having advised their followers against being registered, were arrested by police in western Uganda on Wednesday.
"We are holding three leaders of a cult movement for discouraging their followers from participating in the ongoing national identity card registration exercise," area police commander Thomas Keith Eyaku said.
The arrested religious leaders include bishops Thomas Tumwesigye (51), Francis Tumugyemu (40) and Charles Bitwire (43).
"The self-proclaimed bishops are being interrogated to establish the actual motive behind their practice," Eyaku said.
A combined total of their followers runs in the thousands, reports say.
Only about half of the 16 million targeted for the national registration exercise, have so far been registered. Citing a Biblical verse from the book of Revelations 13 verses 16 and 17, the arrested religious leaders argue that their faith prohibits them from taking part in the ID exercise as it involves numbers.
"The ID project is facing several challenges but cultism is one of the biggest challenges," Uganda's Minister of Internal Affairs, General Aronda Nyakayirima said.
The exercise began in mid-April and was expected to run for four months.
The new digitised IDs, which will bear the holders' photo, names, biometric details including fingerprints, will enhance the country's electoral process, among others, authorities say.
Several religious leaders, suspected of having advised their followers against being registered, were arrested by police in western Uganda on Wednesday.
"We are holding three leaders of a cult movement for discouraging their followers from participating in the ongoing national identity card registration exercise," area police commander Thomas Keith Eyaku said.
The arrested religious leaders include bishops Thomas Tumwesigye (51), Francis Tumugyemu (40) and Charles Bitwire (43).
"The self-proclaimed bishops are being interrogated to establish the actual motive behind their practice," Eyaku said.
A combined total of their followers runs in the thousands, reports say.
Only about half of the 16 million targeted for the national registration exercise, have so far been registered. Citing a Biblical verse from the book of Revelations 13 verses 16 and 17, the arrested religious leaders argue that their faith prohibits them from taking part in the ID exercise as it involves numbers.
"The ID project is facing several challenges but cultism is one of the biggest challenges," Uganda's Minister of Internal Affairs, General Aronda Nyakayirima said.
The exercise began in mid-April and was expected to run for four months.
The new digitised IDs, which will bear the holders' photo, names, biometric details including fingerprints, will enhance the country's electoral process, among others, authorities say.
