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Paper short abstract:

This paper analyses the crisis of citizen identification in Uganda due to the introduction of biometric national identity cards. It focuses on the implications of this new system for citizens' engagement in development, of those whose identification is not properly documented at the centre.

Paper long abstract:

Recently, the biometric identity card has become crucial in citizenship studies. It is believed to offer 'a technical solution' for mass identification, with the ability to minimise deficiencies in existing citizen identification systems. Prompted by the Word Bank's Identification for Development (ID4D) programme initiated in 2014, many African countries have adopted digital identification technologies which are shaping new state-citizen relations. The new digitised biometric card makes citizens visible to the state for security and surveillance, increasing its power to control its citizens.

In 2015, the government of Uganda introduced the centralised national biometric identity card, making it a primary identification document to access both public and private services. Despite its recognised official importance, there remains a crisis of identification for instance for people with disabilities or whose finger prints cannot be captured by machines. The current system disproportionately affects certain citizens' freedoms, coupled with the risks of intergenerational exclusion. This raises questions about how undocumentable citizens will live without proper identity documents, and what the government will do to reverse this crisis.

This paper aims to critically examine the crisis resulting from the introduction of biometric identity cards in Uganda, particularly analysing the implications for citizens' participation in economic and political life, and accessing social services. The paper argues that the adoption of the biometric identity card, while reducing citizen identification deficiencies in some senses, makes identification very complex and worsens marginalisation of selective citizens in Uganda.

Key words: biometric identity card, identification, crisis, Uganda