The government has been sued for allegedly excluding elderly people from accessing Social Assistance Grants for Empowerment (SAGE), and public health services among others due to lack of national identification cards.
The government was sued together with National Identification and Registration Authority-NIRA, by three Civil Society Organizations, the Initiative for Social and Economic Rights (ISER), Unwanted Witness and Health Equity and Policy Initiative.
The organizations, on behalf of the elderly, want the court to declare that the use of National Identification cards as the only means of identification to access SAGE and public health services violates their rights to social security protection.
The case is based on research conducted in June 2020 which established that a third of Uganda’s adult population has not yet received National Identity cards and is therefore being left behind from benefiting from developmental programs and other services.
The study report titled “Chased Away and Left to Die”, outlines that Uganda’s digital ID system, which guarantees access to social and other human rights, has instead led to mass exclusion.
They add that the digital identification register and system operates as a centralized digital ID system relying on biometric authentication which allows for the collection of metadata, mass surveillance and targeted profiling contrary to Article 27 which talks about the right to privacy.
The case is supported by an affidavit of Alex Brian Kiira from ISER who wants the court to compel the government to allow the use of alternative forms of identification for those who need to access health services and SAGE benefits.
In March 2021, ISER together with Unwanted Witness petitioned the court seeking a permanent injunction restraining the government from excluding eligible Ugandans without National Identification Numbers from COVID-19 vaccination.
