By Norbert Mao
The Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs Norbert Mao has ordered all loan organizations and other bodies holding national identity cards as security for loans to return them to their owners by Friday, September 18th, 2026, or face arrest.
Mao issued the directive on Sunday while appearing on a program on Mega FM, where he warned loan organizations against retaining national IDs belonging to Ugandan citizens as collateral.
The Minister said national identity cards are government property and should not be taken or held by private organizations as security for loans.
Mao warned that any loan body that fails to return the national IDs by Friday, September 18th deadline will face arrest.
The directive comes amid concerns that some lending organizations and individuals have been taking borrowers’ national IDs as security for loans, potentially denying citizens access to an important government identification document.
Minister Mao has also cautioned Ugandans against voluntarily surrendering their national IDs to secure loans, emphasizing that a national ID should not be used as collateral for borrowing money.
