and private services, travelling abroad, being identified in case of an accident, voting or running for office, gaining employment, accessing bank accounts, and buying or selling land. Many now perceive access to the identity card as an asset and a right that should be available to all Ugandans. The problem with Ndaga Muntu is that it has failed on many of its inclusionary promises, while equally failing to make use of some of the evident potential benefits of digitalisation. But instead of trying to salvage the progress that the national ID system has already achieved while seriously addressing the growing concerns with this important political project, the Ugandan government appears to be prematurely doubling down on its integration plans for Ndaga Muntu. Recently, the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced that without a Ndaga Muntu card one would not be able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. This despite knowing full well that there are still many Ugandans, particularly older persons, who do not have a NIN or NIC. Only after the Initiative for Social and Economic Rights (ISER) and Unwanted Witness (UW) sued the government, did the Ministry of Health announce it would change the policy to allow alternative, more accessible forms of documentation to be used to access the vaccine.217 Such a victory for common sense and human rights unfortunately only provided temporary, partial respite for Uganda’s poor and marginalized communities. In 2024, the first of the Ndaga Muntu cards issued by the Ugandan government will begin to expire after their ten-year term ends.218 As per the statute, this will require another renewal process.219 At the same time, government officials have already communicated plans to upgrade the existing cards, to expensive chipped smartcards which use simple barcode technology.220 Officials are complaining, seven years after the system was introduced, that the current technology is obsolete and they do not have the resources to properly support the system.221 Meanwhile, newly sworn in Executive Director of NIRA, Rosemary Kisembo, estimates that it will take eight years until every citizen of Uganda is issued an NIN.222 Before more investments are made and individuals lives are hurt, we believe a serious national debate to rethink the approach to a national digital ID system in Uganda is long overdue. Uganda owes this to people like Joyce, Amos and Nyirira and so many more like them who have been ‘chased away’. The key question in that debate should be: how much has Ndaga Muntu cost Ugandans and how much do Ugandans gain, both literally and figuratively? Our recommendations We offer the below recommendations to the government of Uganda, including NIRA, as well as the international community present in the country, which are the outcome of seven months of in-depth research on the exclusionary impact of Uganda’s Ndaga Muntu system. We believe the important perspectives of ‘ordinary’ individuals that form the heart of our research should inform and guide the Ugandan debate on the future of its digital ID project, of course in addition to dother important research and advocacy that has already been done by others in Uganda. 1. 74 With immediate effect, Ndaga Muntu should no longer be required to access social rights. People in Uganda have a human right to health, social security and other social benefits and services. Access to these rights should not be made Chased Away and Left to Die