Government sued over flawed ID system

Millions of Ugandans, represented by an alliance of charities, are suing the government, claiming they have been denied access to potentially life-saving services due to flaws in the national ID card roll-out. A report on the allAfrica site notes that the charities – the Initiative for Social and Economic Rights, Unwanted Witness and the Health Equity and Policy Initiative – estimate 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, they said, citing research conducted last year. 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 getting a passport, they added. The organisations which filed the lawsuit last month, want the court to compel the government to accept alternative forms of identification for social and healthcare services.