particularly MNOs [Mobile Network Operators]—to accelerate the benefits afforded by relevant and inclusive identity solutions.38 In yet another study by GSMA from December 2020, the author writes that the: current national ID system [in Uganda] may now be leveraged by private sector service providers, such as MNOs and financial institutions, to authenticate the credentials of their customers. This has played an important role in expanding financial inclusion, strengthening social protection programmes and supporting humanitarian efforts. 39 These purported benefits of a digital ID system are manifold and impressive, and according to these sources Uganda was apparently ahead of other countries in sub-Saharan Africa in realizing these benefits, due to the speed with which it has registered its population. However, seven years after the launch of its national ID project, it is unclear to us whether individuals in Uganda have actually benefited from this speed, especially considering the many costs of exclusion for poor and marginalized groups. Rather than expanding access to social and other human rights, such as health care and social protection, Ndaga Muntu has actually made it more difficult for many in Uganda to access those rights. One fact to consider here is that before Ndaga Muntu was introduced, individuals accessed Uganda’s public healthcare facilities without complying with any single rigid documentary, biometric, and formalized ID requirement. Similarly, when piloting the SCG cash transfer scheme for older persons, a combination of community-based targeting and a mass registration exercise were used to allow older persons multiple avenues to verify their identity and age.40 Setting this status quo ante aside, a digital ID system can only facilitate access to social and other human rights if individuals have easy and non-discriminatory access to such an ID. But as our research shows, obtaining and using Ndaga Muntu has become its own universe of problems. Millions go without an NIC altogether, while even those with an NIC often face other problems. If anything, the introduction of Ndaga Muntu appears to have lessened the capacity of the Ugandan government to identify its social welfare beneficiaries and assist patients in public health centres. For instance, many potential beneficiaries of the SCG, like Okye, are now left out of the programme because of errors in their records. And this is not even taking into account that large sums of government money are being spent on Ndaga Muntu while so many other barriers to accessing social rights in Uganda remain, such as lack of funding, lack of trained staff and competent administration, and a lack of access to medicines. 4. The struggles and failures of NIRA At the heart of this reality of missed opportunities is the design and administration of Ndaga Muntu by the National Identification and Registration Authority, operating under the authority of the Minister of Internal Affairs (MIA). Given the many problems faced by NIRA, including its underperformance in terms of issuing national identity cards, President Museveni forcefully intervened in 2020 and wrote, “there is need to identify a new Executive Director, preferably with Legal or Information Technology background.”41 From our research How a National Security Approach to Uganda’s National Digital ID Has Led to Wholesale Exclusion of Women and Older Persons 13