Ugandan MPs Say QR Codes on New National IDs Fail to Authenticate

Holders of Uganda’s newly issued national identity cards are being turned away from banks and telecom shops because the QR codes on the cards do not authenticate, MPs told Parliament during a plenary sitting.

Patrick Okello Onguti, the Democratic Party member for Aswa County, said the failures are blocking people from opening bank accounts, buying new SIM cards and replacing existing ones. “Ugandans are crying out because when seeking banking services, buying new SIM cards from the telecom service providers and SIM card replacements, some of these services that require the QR code, the new IDs’ QR codes are not responding,” he told the House.

Onguti said the National Identification and Registration Authority had acknowledged in February that the QR code functionality had not been integrated into its digital operational system, and had said the problem would be fixed by the end of March. He asked why it appeared to persist months past that date, and called on the Minister for Internal Affairs and the authority to give a firm date for when the cards would be fully operational. He also raised a charge of 5,000 shillings for a letter from the authority that allows a person whose card cannot be verified electronically to have their details entered into the system by hand.

Government Chief Whip Jane Ruth Aceng acknowledged the concern and said the government would seek a response from the Minister for Internal Affairs.

The cards reaching holders now come out of a long enrolment push. The authority launched a mass digital ID renewal campaign ahead of the 2026 elections and added IriTech iris biometrics to its next-generation registration kits.

Failure at the verification step reaches a long way. The Registration of Persons Act requires a national identification number or card for opening bank accounts and for insurance, land transactions, pension and social security transactions, consumer credit and taxation, and the accompanying regulations list SIM card registration among the transactions where identification is required. The same law puts the authority in charge of verifying and authenticating identification information and maintaining the register, and makes the card prima facie proof of the details printed on it.

Sources: The Independent

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By the ID Tech Editorial Team