Joyce 93 years old Busia District Joyce, aged 93, stays with her fourth born son, Wafula. We would later learn that her other sons are in Kampala. As we interview her, she says her tongue is very heavy and she can’t speak for long—and when she does, she speaks rather slowly, often stopping in her tracks. When Joyce is unable to continue speaking, her son Wafula intervenes and tells us his mother’s experience when she tried to register for a National ID. He narrates: We tried to register her while registration for the National ID was happening—I took her to the sub county personally. We filled in the [registration] form that was given to us but when it came to taking the picture, it couldn’t be captured. They tried taking her picture four times and it refused. Eventually, the people registering told us that they won’t be able to enter mama into the computer because her picture couldn’t be captured. They therefore gave us back the registration form and we went home. When we asked why her face couldn’t be captured, we were told that it’s because she has grey hair. Wafula added that there are other people in their community who also faced a similar challenge and they have never gotten a National ID to date. How a National Security Approach to Uganda’s National Digital ID Has Led to Wholesale Exclusion of Women and Older Persons 29

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