The Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control (DCIC) has confiscated over 10,000 Ugandan national identity cards from foreign individuals who allegedly exploited vulnerabilities in the National Identification Registration Authority (NIRA) system to fraudulently obtain these IDs.
Simon Peter Mundeyi, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, said that these foreigners managed to dupe NIRA officials by posing as Ugandans, using deceptive tactics to acquire authentic national IDs.
Mundeyi explained that the individuals were netted while trying to acquire Ugandan passports. He explained that these impostors struggled to answer basic questions, such as greetings in the local languages of their purported origins.
The majority of the seized IDs were associated with individuals hailing from various foreign nations, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Eritrea, Rwanda, Somalia, Ethiopia, and South Sudan.
Mundeyi recounted specific instances where these impostors, claiming to be from the Basoga tribe, were caught in their own web of lies. Two Nigerians and a national of the Democratic Republic of Congo were apprehended last week, their false identities unraveled as they failed to demonstrate any genuine knowledge of Busoga culture, geography, or language.
One of the Nigerians, identified as Akofo Ashraf, managed to secure a national ID by posing as a Musoga named Kakaire, yet could not provide even basic insights about the Busoga region or speak the Lusoga language. Similarly, another Nigerian named Ibrahim Yahaya Muhammed attempted to obtain a Ugandan passport under the guise of being a Musoga by tribe, further exposing the extent of the scam.
As authorities continue to grapple with the ramifications of this widespread identity fraud, the Nigerian and Congolese nationals involved have been apprehended and detained at Jinja Road police station.