The Ministry of Internal Affairs has once again highlighted the issue of uncollected passports, with a significant backlog accumulating at their Kyambogo center in Kampala.
According to Simon Mundeyi, the spokesperson for Internal Affairs, the ministry is currently holding over 50,000 passports that have not been collected by their owners.
Mundeyi revealed that this year alone, from January to April, approximately 2000 passports have not been collected despite being processed during this period.
The accumulation of uncollected passports presents a challenge to the ministry’s storage facilities, as the number continues to grow with new applicants every day.
Explaining the reasons behind the high number of uncollected passports, Mundeyi mentioned issues with communication. Some passport owners do not receive messages notifying them to collect their documents.
He noted that in certain cases, although the passports are ready for collection, recipients may miss the notification messages due to their phones being switched off or lacking network coverage. As a result, the messages bounce back, and recipients remain unaware of their documents’ availability.
Additionally, the decline in the export of Ugandan labor to the Middle East has contributed to the accumulation of uncollected passports. Many of these passports belong to individuals, particularly young women, who intended to work in the Middle East. However, with the decline in business opportunities in that region, interest in collecting the passports has waned, especially as individuals return to their villages.
Mundeyi urged all individuals who have applied for passports to either collect them promptly or check the status of their documents on the Internal Affairs website. This proactive approach can help alleviate the backlog and ensure efficient processing of passport applications.
