Ugandan Parliament Introduces Registration of Persons Bill

Parliament of Uganda

Uganda has introduced the Registration of Persons Bill into Parliament, which, when passed into law, will make the registration of all persons in Uganda compulsory.

Persons requiring a service from a Ministry, government department or agency will have to show proof of registration by providing their National Identification Number or National Identification Card before being served.

The Minister of Internal Affairs, Gen. Aronda Nyakairima (Army), said the Registration of Persons Bill is a “key Bill relating to registration of persons in Uganda aiming at removing duplication of registration of people by centralizing all activities of different bodies.”

The Bill makes registration mandatory for citizens of Uganda who are resident in or outside Uganda; and alien residents issued with a permit, certificate or pass under the Uganda Citizenship and Immigration Control Act.

The introduction of the Registration of Persons Bill comes months after the official registration of Uganda in preparation for national identification cards.

Dismissing Hon. Kassiano Wadri’s comments that the Bill was irrelevant having come five months into the national registration exercise, the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Rebecca Kadaga, referred the Bill to the Committee on Defense and Internal Affairs for consideration, arguing that the experience in the exercise would held Parliament make a good law.

According to the law, production of a national identification number or national identification cards will be mandatory when someone is seeking employment, for identification of voters, application/issuance of passport, opening bank accounts and purchase of insurance policies. It will also be a requirement in consumer credit transactions, financial, registration and statistical services.

According to the draft law, a person who fails to register shall have committed an offense and would be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding UShs 960, 000 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years, or both.

Registration of persons shall be done at registration centers in the country and at Uganda’s missions abroad.