On 10th June 2025, Justice Boniface Wamala delivered the much-awaited ruling in a case filed by us, together with, the Initiative for Social and Economic Rights and Unwanted Witness in 2022, seeking among others, a declaration that the Digital ID system is exclusionary and discriminative as far as it is a prerequisite in accessing public health care, Social Security benefits and in determining citizenship.
We argued that the use of the National Identification Register as a primary data source and mandatory means of identification, to access social security benefits like Social Assistance Grants For Empowerment (SAGE) and public health care is an affront to the right against discrimination, the right to social security of older persons, privacy and right to health.
The court was joined by four resourceful amici curiae, highlighted privacy concerns and brought to the attention of the Court, where ID systems have been struck down for falling short on data protection and privacy and for failing to meet the necessity and proportionality test.
The government of Uganda, argued firstly, that the National ID system is not digital; it is a physical card, where verification and registrations are done without the requirement for internet, secondly, that the ID system is not mandatory for accessing public health services and were it is mandatory, it is for verification purposes, and in absence of a credible system to for example verify beneficiaries of social security programs.
The court held that the National ID system is not digital, so, a person cannot be denied access simply because of lack of internet connectivity; that it is not mandatory at least for accessing public health, and where it is mandatory, it is for purposes of verification since there is no other credible, cheap and accessible ID system. The Court compared alternative ID systems like driving permits and passports and concluded that the alternative systems are expensive and not accessible to all.
Positives
Like Winston Churchill once said, “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning”, rough results like these in Public interest litigation, like rough diamonds, may sometimes be mistaken for worthless pebbles, but kind me not. The effects of questioning the inclusivity and safety of our national ID system are not in vain. Subtle positives can be sieved out of the ruling,
One, the Court clarified that access to public health services is not pegged on a national ID, Court further clarified that neither the Registration of Persons Act nor any government policy requires patients to present a national ID to access public health services.
The Court further clarified that Uganda’s National ID system is not Digital and that, without the Internet, verifications and onboarding can still occur; therefore, the ID system cannot be encumbered by low internet penetration.
Lastly, whereas the Court concludes that there is no perfect ID system in the world, it agrees with us that there are incidents of exclusion; however, it is quick to mention that these are not systemic issues, but rather operational issues that can be addressed. This gives parties room for further engagement to make sure we have an ID system that works for all.
By
Morgan Muhindo
Head Programs HEAPI.
Click here to access the Court Ruling