Simon Peter Mundeyi the spokesperson of Internal Affairs has clarified that the Ministry has no control over fraudsters who extort money from Ugandans outside their offices in exchange to express passports.
This clarification has come after a certain government official was conned for 2 million by brokers outside the Ministry headquarters premises.
Mundeyi was speaking at the joint security press conference held on Monday at the Uganda Police headquarters in Naguru Kampala.
“Do not pay any extra money to anyone… we have a robust passport issuance system, I encourage Ugandans to test it and also have faith in it to avoid disappointments” Mundeyi added.
The Ministry mouthpiece also noted that currently 260 people including businessmen have applied for Diplomatic passports yet they don’t belong to that category and they have already directed them to apply for ordinary passports.
According to the Ministry, Diplomatic passports are issued to standing members of government including the High Court Judge, a Minister, Permanent Secretary, Ambassador, Foreign Service Officer, and members of the first family.
With the issuance of the new electronic passports, Mundeyi articulated that there is no need to line up for a stamp at the airport immigration booth but rather just swipe it at the E-Gates and all the information will be captured and shared via the internet.
The Internal Affairs Ministry recently carried out an operation in Mbale and Iganga where it arrested 56 foreign nationals from Pakistan, India, and China who were working and living within the country, and investigations plus their files are being worked on.
The Ministry has always deported several foreign nationals found working in the country illegally, especially those who involve in businesses whose permits don’t apply which is categorized as abuse of the facility.
The Ministry has further emphasized that such operations are to keep going on concurrently in all four regions of the country and they urged all foreign nationals working and living in the country to apply for the right documents such that they aren’t caught on the wrong side of the law.
On Passport and Visa issues, the Ministry opened up a toll-free call center that caters to all inquiries which they call upon Ugandans in the country to adopt as this would help to slash down the numbers that line up at the Ministry daily.
