Katikiro urges Ugandans to get e-passports

Oct 16, 2020

Mayiga said it is e-passports that are going to be used at all border entries and airports around the world.

KATIKIRO|E-PASSPORTS|IMMIGRATION

KAMPALA - The Katikiro of Buganda Kingdom, Charles Peter Mayiga, has urged all Ugandans to get electronic passports to avoid being inconvenienced when they want to travel abroad.

Mayiga said it is e-passports that are going to be used at all border entries and airports around the world, and those who won't have them will have problems with traveling. 

"The world is now technologically driven that one cannot run away from technologies. At the moment e-passports are the ones that will be used around the world," he said.

The Katikiro who was in the company of his wife, Margaret Mayiga, made the remarks while picking their e-passports from the Internal Affairs Ministry in Kampala on Friday (October 16, 2020).

Charles Peter Mayiga, the Katikiro of Buganda Kingdom (C) interacting with Maj. Gen. Apollo Kasiita-Gowa the Director of Citizenship and Immigration Control and Margaret Mayiga his wife.


Mayiga said it is important for a person to know the requirements needed for one to acquire an e-passport and also get an appointment with Internal Affairs to prevent being delayed and inconvenienced.

He applauded the ministry for adopting technology in their work and serving people professionally.

"The Immigration body is important in the country. If it is not time efficient and professional, it can foil the development of the country as many important documents are picked from it," Mayiga explained.

The Government introduced new e-passports in January last year. The e-Passports are presented Slay Blue for Ordinary Passport, Green for Service Passport, and Red Diplomatic Passport.

Although similar to the existing passports, an e-passport contains a small contact-less integrated circuit (computer chip) embedded on the biodata page.

Charles Peter Mayiga (R) appending his signature into the biometric system as an immigration officer looks on.


An ordinary electronic passport will cost sh250,000, an official (held by government officials) will cost sh400,000 and a diplomatic electronic passport costs sh500,000.

Burundi, Kenya, the United States, and several countries in Asia, Europe, and Latin America have long adopted e-passports.

Ministry of Internal Affairs spokesperson, Jacob Siminyu, said they have so far given out 300,000 e-passports.

"It is the COVID 19 pandemic that stopped several people from applying for the e-passports, but we hope numbers will rise now since traveling abroad has resumed officially," Siminyu said.

He added that just like any other Ugandans, the Katikiro and wife applied for their e-passports online and were given an appointment to show up at immigration on Friday.

"We have got fingerprints and passport photos from Katikiro and his wife. The two left with their e-passports," he said.

Getting an ordinary e-passport takes one to four working days after applying, while an express takes one to two days.

At the ministry, Mayiga and Margaret were welcomed by the Director of Citizenship and Immigration Control, Maj. Gen. Apollo Kasiita-Gowa.

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