New UCC Sim card registration directive illegal - Law society
Uganda Law Society president Francis Gimara
What you need to know:
- The Minister for Information, Technology and Communication, Mr Frank Tumwebaze, in an interview said he was shocked that Ugandans were “missing the substance and going for form”.
- ULS also has made a number of recommendations, including extension of the registration period to allow those without National IDs to get them, called for the passing of a bill on data protection and appealed to government to pass a comprehensive law to guide sim card registration such as in Kenya.
Kampala. Pressure is mounting on Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) to review its latest directives on sim card registration, barely three days before the commission switches off subscribers registered without using the National Identification cards.
The latest is from Uganda Law Society (ULS), which has termed UCC’s seven-day ultimatum to subscribers, among other things, as illegal.
UCC’s ultimatum, which involves Ugandans previously registered with different identity cards re-validating their registration using their National IDs, foreigners using passports, and refugees getting certification from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), was announced on Tuesday at a joint press briefing by UCC executive director, Mr Godfrey Mutabazi, and Gen Kale Kayihura, the Inspector General of Police, at UCC head offices in Kampala.
ULS president Francis Gimara noted that the law under Regulation 7(3) allows valid identification documents issued by government agencies such as National identity cards, work permits, passports, driving licence, student Identity cards and voter’s cards to be used for registration.
“If one form of identification is going to be preferred, then these regulations will have to be first amended,” Mr Gimara noted.
ULS, which, among other things, is mandated to “protect and assist the public in Uganda in matters touching, ancillary or incidental to the law”, advised UCC to go slow on the sim card registration process to give as many people a chance to take part in the process.
“We are of the view that the directive should not be in violation of the existing legal framework. We request that you convene a stakeholders meeting to discuss these issues so that we can collectively put in place legally acceptable mechanisms that will not disenfranchise people from accessing communication,” the statement adds.
Also, Information Communication Technology Association of Uganda (ICTAU), on Thursday warned of “significant risks” if UCC went ahead and implemented its directive.
ICTAU, which brings together organisations and key ICT stakeholders in the country, in a two page letter, urged UCC to reconsider its directive.
The Minister for Information, Technology and Communication, Mr Frank Tumwebaze, in an interview said he was shocked that Ugandans were “missing the substance and going for form”.
ULS also has made a number of recommendations, including extension of the registration period to allow those without National IDs to get them, called for the passing of a bill on data protection and appealed to government to pass a comprehensive law to guide sim card registration such as in Kenya.
