The Internal affairs ministry has disclosed that at least 10,000 foreigners own genuine Ugandan national IDs, that they allegedly seek to use to acquire the country’s passports.

The ministry’s spokesperson, Simon Peter Mundeyi said that they have confiscated these and returned them to National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) for cancellation.

this was during the weekly media briefing at the Police headquarters in Naguru.

On several occasions, the NIRA spokesperson, Osbone Tushabe has come out to disclaim brokers that work behind the internal affairs office, especially NIRA.

It is alleged that most foreigners who possess Ugandan passports and IDs use them to commit crimes, including drug trafficking.

Internal Affairs spokesperson, Simon Mundeyi said they have recently confiscated the Ugandan national IDs possessed by foreigners and returned them to National Identification and Registration Authority(NIRA) for cancellation since 2014.

MUNDEYI added that the acquisition of these IDs by foreigners follows their alleged desire to acquire Ugandan passports for their own selfish benefits, he also revealed that three foreigners including two Nigerians and a Congolese national were found trying to acquire Ugandan passports using the country’s national IDs.

Internal affairs spokesperson noted that most Nigerians tend to come to Uganda to acquire IDs to aid their wrongdoings, Mundeyi believes this is easy for them because they claim to have a resemblance with Ugandans.

He expressed concern however that the number of foreigners having the country’s national IDs may shoot up ahead of the 2026 elections.

In the past, several foreigners, especially those involved in drug trafficking, have been caught using Ugandan passports to commit crimes.

Ugandan passports are sought after by drug traffickers, especially those from Nigeria so as to conceal their real identities.

That aside, the manager of Public Relations at NIRA, Osborne Tushabe has cautioned elders below the age of 80 from trying to manipulate their personal information on IDs in order to benefit from the SAGE government fund.