Gov’t Orders Former Ministers, MPs to Return Diplomatic Passports

The government has issued a strict directive ordering all former cabinet ministers, Members of Parliament (MPs), and other retired or relieved senior government officials to immediately return their official and diplomatic passports to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.  

The directive, issued through the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control (DCIC), aims to curb the misuse of highly privileged travel documents by individuals who are no longer in government service and therefore do not qualify for the associated diplomatic immunities and travel perks.

According to the Ministry, possessing an official or diplomatic passport is intrinsically tied to the specific government office an individual holds. Once an official’s tenure expires, or they are dropped from the cabinet, the entitlement to the specialized passport ceases automatically.

Internal Affairs officials have expressed growing concern over former state actors continuing to use the red (diplomatic) and green (official) e-passports to facilitate personal business trips abroad, often exploiting the VIP clearance, visa exemptions, and diplomatic protocols that accompany the documents.

“Diplomatic and official passports are property of the Government of Uganda, issued strictly to facilitate official state duties,” a source at the Ministry explained. “When you cease to be a Minister, an MP, or a senior public servant entitled to these documents, you revert to being a private citizen. You must hand over the official passport and apply for the standard blue ordinary passport.”

The government has noted instances where former officials have presented these passports at foreign embassies to secure quick visas or used them at international airports to bypass standard immigration queues, actions that contravene both domestic immigration laws and international diplomatic protocols.

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The recall specifically targets individuals who recently exited public service. This includes politicians who lost their parliamentary seats in past elections, cabinet ministers dropped in recent reshuffles, retired judicial officers, and former heads of key government agencies and commissions.

Under Uganda’s passport regulations, diplomatic passports (red) are reserved for the President, the First Lady, the Chief Justice, the Speaker of Parliament, cabinet ministers, recognized traditional and cultural leaders, and high-ranking foreign service officers (ambassadors and diplomats).

Official passports (green), on the other hand, are issued to Members of Parliament, permanent secretaries, heads of government parastatals, and senior military or police officers travelling strictly for state business.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs has warned that it will not hesitate to enforce compliance for those who deliberately ignore the directive.

Former officials who fail to willingly surrender the documents risk having them electronically deactivated in the national immigration system. The DCIC has already synchronized its database with the airport security grid at Entebbe International Airport, meaning any attempt to travel using a revoked diplomatic or official passport will trigger an immediate alert.

Immigration officers stationed at all border points and Entebbe Airport have reportedly been briefed to confiscate the invalid documents on sight and subject the bearers to standard security checks as ordinary citizens.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has the mandate to notify foreign embassies in Kampala not to issue diplomatic visas on passports held by individuals no longer in government.

To facilitate a seamless transition, the Ministry has assured the affected former officials that their applications for standard ordinary passports (blue) will be expedited.

“We are not denying them their right to travel. They are Ugandans and are entitled to standard passports. We have set up a VIP desk at the passport office to quickly process their ordinary e-passports once they hand in the official ones,” the Ministry clarified.

The move is part of a broader government effort to sanitize the issuance and management of national travel documents, ensuring that Uganda’s diplomatic standing is not compromised by the unauthorized use of state privileges abroad.