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Consider Uganda sued over a digital ID scheme that excludes millions.

Otajar John jumped at the chance to apply when he heard that older people are to be awarded 25,000 Ugandan shillings ($7) each month as part of a new government assistance initiative. 

The octogenarian from rural eastern Uganda was living hand to mouth, relying on begging to survive after a lifetime of laboring as a farmer. He believed that the state’s economic assistance would be of great use to him. 

But, nearly two years later, John is still unable to claim his monthly allowance because he lacks a valid national digital identity card (ndaga muntu), which requires him to access most public and private services in Uganda.  

“I registered for the ID card, but the date of birth made me 10 years younger and I couldn’t use it,” the 83-year-old told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from his home in Bazaar village in Kumi district. 

“I have repeatedly asked to have my ID card corrected, but the officials refused to do it and turned me away. Without it, I have no choice but to continue begging until I die,” he said speaking in the Ateso language through a translator. 

John is one of the millions of Ugandans on whose behalf an alliance of charities has sued the government, arguing that vulnerable groups have been denied access to potentially life-saving services due to flaws in the national ID card rollout. 

Most of those affected are poor and marginalized such as the elderly. They are unable to claim welfare payments, as well as pregnant women who cant access health centers, they said, citing research conducted last year. 

The lack of a national ID has also prevented many Ugandans from opening a bank account, buying a mobile SIM card, enrolling in college, gaining formal employment, and getting a passport, they added.