SECTION 3: WHEN THE CURE IS WORSE THAN THE DISEASE: NDAGA MUNTU AND IDENTITY POLITICS In Section 2, we gave a snapshot of what the impact of the Ndaga Muntu system has been like for individuals in Uganda, especially women and older persons living in poverty who attempt to access health and social security. But the question remains: how did we arrive here? Are the exclusionary and human rights concerns we described inevitable or are they intentional outcomes inherent in the design of this national ID system? Or are these unintended consequences that can be remedied by approaching Ndaga Muntu differently? In this section, we will attempt to answer these questions by looking into the history of Ndaga Muntu, the key actors involved in its design, and the wider political and international landscape in which this national ID system is being implemented. 1. The beginning of the Ndaga Muntu project The Ugandan government began publicly building the case for a national digital ID project as early as the 1990s, but it was not until around 2000 that the system we are grappling with today began to take shape.149 After ratifying the Treaty on East African Community, which called for states to “maintain a common travel document,” Uganda began to feel pressure to finally make the national ID project a reality.150 While a contract was awarded to a South African company, called Face Technologies in 2006, the project was mired in corruption and allegations of bribery. The contract would eventually be cancelled, with little to show for several years of political wrangling.151 According to official documents and reports in the press, in 2010, the German Ambassador brought a “Mr. Mühlbauer” to meet with relevant ministers and eventually with President Yoweri Museveni himself.152 The company that he represented, Mühlbauer High Tech International, provided identification technologies, including biometric ID cards and personalisation centres, where cards can be printed.153 The administration decided to bypass the standard procurement process, citing national security concerns, in March of 2010. The Government of Uganda awarded Mühlbauer a single sourcing contract equivalent to €64 million EUR to deliver a new national ID project.154 Mühlbauer was contracted to supply machinery and equipment to set up the national identity card project, as well as a personalisation facility to produce the national ID cards and a national data centre. President Museveni officially launched the project on May 21, 2011, when he received the first national ID card at the Kololo ceremonial grounds in Kampala. From the outset, however, the inter-ministerial project led by the Minister of Internal Affairs faced significant difficulties, including an inquiry by the Committee on Defence and Internal Affairs.155 This Committee would conclude that the procurement process was carried out without adequate due diligence and deliberately avoided procedures laid down in public procurement laws. It was not only the procurement process that seemed faulty, a year after its ceremonial launch there were reports of unused and faulty equipment, and the project had managed to issue only 400 ID cards.156 In 2013, however, the national ID project gained a highly visible leader in the form of the late General Aronda Nyakairima, then newly appointed as Minister of Internal Affairs.157 General Aronda was a decorated and long serving military officer who had 64 Chased Away and Left to Die