Refugee cards, OPM attestation letters no longer valid for SIM card registration, says UCC

UCC executive Director Mr Godfrey Mutabazi. FILE PHOTO

What you need to know:

  • Shoprite Shopping Mall houses both MTN and Airtel service centres and a beehive of activity goes on inside, with hundreds of people scrambling to either replace or acquire new SIM cards.
  • Two women, who operate this secret mobile money shop near Cooper Complex, have all the equipment used in SIM card registration; a camera, computer, a biometric machine and registration phones.

Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) has suspended the use of refugee cards and attestation letters from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) to facilitate SIM card registration.
This, according to the regulatory body follows a

Scam rocks SIM card registration

The syndicate involves telecom agents and security guards at MTN and Airtel SIM card registration centres

in which it was reported that with just Shs50, 000, you can quickly and easily get a functional SIM card duly registered with mobile money services using a forged identity card.
In his undercover story, the reporter used a forged refugee identity card to acquire two new registered SIM cards from the two telecom giants Airtel and MTN within 30 minutes.

READ:

Scam rocks SIM card registration

The syndicate involves telecom agents and security guards at MTN and Airtel SIM card registration centres

"The commission has as a result of this directed all telecom operators to suspend the registration of all SIM cards with the use of refugee cards and attestation letters from the OPM effective October 7, 2019. The commission is in the process of formulating stringent procedures with the OPM on the validation of the Refugee Cards and Attestation letters to mitigate further SIM card registration fraud," reads part of the statement issued by the UCC executive Director Mr Godfrey Mutabazi.

Mr Mutabazi further warned that any telecom operator identified to carry out registration from October 7 “may be penalised accordingly.”
In 2018, UCC issued new SIM card validation guidelines to all telecommunication companies to ensure registered telephone numbers match with the subscriber’s valid National Identification Number (NIN) on the National Identity card. The purpose was to fight crime by making criminals traceable on their registered SIM cards after commission of offences using their phone lines.
However, the new SIM card registration scam points to the futility of these efforts.

According to the UCC rules, a Ugandan can only acquire a new SIM upon presentation of a valid National ID from the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA).
A foreigner can only acquire a SIM card upon presentation of a valid passport while a refugee, until October 7, needed a refugee identity card or any other authorisation letter from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM).