The Ministry of Internal Affairs has uncovered a criminal trend where Ugandans have resorted to selling their passports at Nkrumah and Dewinton Roads for about UGX 10 million to individuals involved in international drug trafficking.

Speaking to the media at Naguru Police Headquarters on January 29, 2025, Internal Affairs Spokesperson Simon Peter Mundeyi said these passports are allegedly used by smugglers into countries like China, where authorities may struggle to distinguish individuals based solely on passport details.

“We have intelligence that more than 20,000 Ugandan passports have been sold at Dewinton and Nkuruma Roads by passport holders to drug traffickers. These criminals use them to conduct their illicit activities in countries like China,” Mundeyi stated.

He warned Ugandans living in Dubai against selling their passports for as low as $5000, emphasizing that this illegal practice is punishable under Ugandan law.

He noted that due to the increasing misuse of passports, Ugandans abroad are now required to return home for renewals or replacements if they lose their passports.

The Directorate of Immigration has also issued a caution to travellers applying for Ugandan visas, urging them to use only official government websites to avoid fraud.

Authorities revealed that scammers have created fake websites resembling the official immigration platform, charging unsuspecting applicants up to $200 but only submitting $50 to the real system.

“The only official website is visas.immigration.go.ug. Take note of the domain go.ug, as fake sites often use domains like .uk or .us,” Mundeyi advised. “We only charge $50 for online visa applications.”

In the past, foreigners especially from Nigeria have been trying to acquire Ugandan passports to use them in their business of drug trafficking, to countries like China where their countries’ passports were blacklisted.