Passport replacement for Diaspora 'will only be done in Kampala'

The Ministry of Internal Affairs has said going forward, Ugandans living in the diaspora who lose their passports will only be able to replace them from Uganda and not at their respective embassies.

Speaking on Monday, Internal Affairs spokesperson, Simon Mundeyi said the move follows reports of Ugandans who sell their passports to criminals while abroad and report loss of these documents.

“We were made aware of a racket involving Ugandans and non-Ugandans who would sell passports to fraudsters and these would be used in crime. The criminals use photo alteration and other techniques to change these genuine passports and use them as theirs,” Mundeyi said.

The Internal Affairs spokesperson said the criminals, most of whom are non-Ugandans easily use the Ugandan passports since it is not easy to differentiate Africans in many of the countries in Europe and Middle East as they pass off as Ugandans.

Mundeyi explained that after selling their passports to foreigners, Ugandans abroad then report them as lost to their respective embassies and proceed to apply for replacements.

Tightens noose

According to Internal Affairs, government has now tightened the noose around this racket with stringent measures now put in place in replacement of lost passports.

“From now, anybody who claims to have lost their passport must come back home to replace it. The replacement will be issued after joint investigations between the Ugandan government and their host governments,”Mundeyi said.

He emphasized that Ugandan foreign missions no longer replace lost passports and those who seek for replacement will have to travel back to Kampala.

Mudenyi added that Ugandan foreign missions don’t issue new passports but rather renew only those that have expired.