The research report findings and shortcomings of Ndaga Muntu have actually been acknowledged by the Ugandan Government. The Executive Director of the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA), Ms. Rosemary Kisembo, has time and again decried the inadequacies of the system; noting amongst others, a national ID coverage of only about 70%. Other official and media reports have also shown how individuals, in many cases those who are poor or otherwise marginalized, have been excluded from crucial social rights. These shortcomings in the functioning of Ndaga Muntu, combined with the fact that the Registration of Persons Act 2015 legally mandates the use of this system to access crucial government and private services, has led to serious human rights concerns that are at the heart of this litigation,
“It is no secret that NIRA still has a lot to do to ensure that all Ugandans are registered for the National ID. More so, issues of errors, prohibitive costs to rectify errors and inordinate delays have continually been reported to mark the National ID system. How then can the Government heavily rely on such a flawed system to enable access to life saving services!” said Atori Elizabeth, the Legal Officer at ISER.
The Applicants are therefore requesting the High Court to declare that sole reliance on the National ID system to access health services and SAGE benefits is exclusionary and discriminatory and violates the right to health and social security. Secondly, that the Government should allow the use of alternative forms of identification besides the National ID for one to access health services and SAGE benefits for the older persons.
“The Ndaga Muntu system has failed to live up to the promise of inclusion, and for as long as the dysfunctions that attend it are not addressed, insisting on its sole use to determine whether one accesses social services is not only inherently discriminatory but also inhumane,” said the Executive Director at Unwanted Witness, Dorothy Mukasa.
This is not the first time applicants have sued Government to address the exclusionary impact of Ndaga Muntu. When the Ministry of Health announced in March 2021 that COVID-19 vaccines would only be accessible upon showing a National ID Card, ISER and Unwanted Witness filed a case before the High Court seeking an injunction against this requirement and requested that alternative forms of identification would be allowed to get access to vaccines. Before the court had ruled on the matter, the Ministry of Health reversed its policy and announced that it would no longer require the National ID as the sole identity marker for one to access COVID19 vaccination.
Brian Kiira from ISER noted that “Just like with the COVID19 vaccination policy, we are confident that allowing alternative forms of identification for people to access health services and SAGE benefits is a simple, common sense, solution that fosters inclusion and efficacy of Government interventions.”
For a summary of the case and answers to frequently asked questions, see here.
For more information, please contact: Elizabeth Atori (eatori@iser-uganda.org) OR Brian Kiira (bkiira@iser-uganda.org)
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