Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni now says it is a requirement for everyone to provide identification cards when visiting places of worship and lodgings.

Museveni was addressing the nation on Thursday at Nakasero State Lodge following recent terrorist threats in certain parts of the country.

“No strangers entering your church, please. Anybody you don’t know in your area must be challenged, isolated and reported to the police.

“Nobody should enter your bar because you drinkers know one another,” he added.

Museveni’s elaborates his strategy

The head of state noted that terrorists are fond of hotels and other rental facilities where their identity is not scrutinised.

“There is a gap by the hotel people and landlords. Remember that a terrorist has to sleep somewhere at night. Therefore check national identity cards.”

Museveni said this practice would force them to stay with their families seeing as “many of these groups don’t have sympathizers who would risk housing them.”

Museveni wants police involved

To enforce this, he directed police officers to offer training to hotel managers on proper security checks.

“Police, train our people. No room without showing your ID card and make sure that my face is the one on the ID. That is for hotels and lodges.

“When it comes to landlords of flats and so on… it is the same.”

Suspected terrorists arrested

However, Museveni’s directive could pose a challenge for church goers in urban centres who barely know each other. This is because churches in town centres invite everyone for prayers regardless of their identity.

His order comes days after seven suspected terrorists were apprehended and six explosive devices recovered.

Security forces destroyed one of the explosives at Rubaga Miracle Centre Cathedral the previous weekend.