Uganda Govt Sued Over Digital ID System That Excludes Millions

Charities - among them the Initiative for Social and Economic Rights, Unwanted Witness and the Health Equity and Policy Initiative - are suing the Ugandan government for what it calls, the exclusion of vulnerable groups from potentially life-saving services, due to flaws in the national ID card rollout. The three charities estimate that up to one-third of adults do not have the biometric ID card, seven years after the system was introduced.

Most of those affected are poor and marginalised such as the elderly who have been unable to claim welfare payments, as well as pregnant women who have been turned away from health centres, the organisations said. The lack of a national ID has also prevented many Ugandans from opening a bank account, buying a mobile SIM card, enrolling in college, gaining formal employment and obtaining a passport.

The charities filed the lawsuit on April 25, 2022 saying the mandatory use of the national ID was exclusionary and violated citizens' rights to key services. They want the court to compel the government to accept alternative forms of identification for social and healthcare services.