proof of their legal identity, half of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa.31 For instance, the 2017 World Bank Identification for Development (ID4D) Global Dataset found that Uganda ranked number 16 on a list of 187 countries with the greatest proportion of the population without access to an ID.32 The government of Uganda has since invested a considerable amount of money in addressing this perceived identification gap, primarily via Ndaga Muntu. What are the inclusionary benefits of providing a population with a digital ID, specifically? One of the major proponents of digital ID in the international arena is the World Bank. Its ID4D initiative published a guide which explains why digital ID systems are presumed to be important for sustainable and inclusive development. Some of their cited reasons are: (i) it provides individuals access to financial, health, and social services for which identification is a prerequisite; (ii) it strengthens the capacity of governments to deliver services and cash transfers by enabling governments to know who their beneficiaries are, which also prevents fraud and ‘leakage’ and increases ‘overall efficiency of administration’; (iii) it reduces the cost for financial institutions to identify who their clients are and to comply with legal requirements to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing; (iv) it allows for online identification which is considered the foundation for modern, digital economies; (v) it allows for easier travel across borders, migration, and cross-border trade; and (vi) it generates reliable and continuous statistics to measure progress and inform policy.33 According to the global promoters of government digital ID systems, Uganda has often been presented as a digital ID success story. The ID4D initiative, in a 2018 ‘diagnostic’ of the Ugandan ‘identification ecosystem’, applauded the government’s, “impressive rollout of the NID,” that had, “put Uganda in a different league of countries.”34 Indeed, the World Bank lauded the ‘unrivalled and successful launch’ of the national ID that had brought ‘profound change’ and continued by stating that Uganda’s current national ID system was: technologically advanced, which has created the potential for leveraging the national ID system for e-government and authentication by public and private sectors (e.g., mobile phone companies, banks, and insurance companies), further expanding financial inclusion, strengthening social protection delivery, supporting immigration control and refugee management, and helping the Electoral Commission create an up-to-date voter register for the 2021 general elections.35 We should note here that the lead author of this 2018 World Bank diagnostic has since stated to us that the version of the World Bank diagnostic that was published is different on crucial points from the version he originally submitted to the Bank.36 Other global actors have also emphasized the promise and benefits of digital ID in Uganda, particularly those from the private sector.37 The Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), representing the interests of private mobile telecom operators worldwide, wrote in a 2019 ‘Digital Identity Country Report’ on Uganda that: of particular interest, is the country’s efforts to mobilise the population to enrol for identity solutions—and to understand the benefits of identity. This work has been impressive, and may offer lessons to other countries exploring the role and benefits of identity. Building on this progress, there is significant scope for the private sector— 12 Chased Away and Left to Die