Ex-MPs Told to Hand Back Service Passports as Former Ministers Quietly Return Diplomatic Booklets

The Ministry of Internal Affairs has directed former ministers and unelected former Members of Parliament to immediately surrender their diplomatic and service passports, saying the privileges attached to the documents end when their terms of office expire.

Speaking to the media, Internal Affairs spokesperson Simon Peter Mundeyi clarified that diplomatic and service passports are issued strictly for official government duties and cannot be retained after leaving public office.

Mundeyi said former MPs who were issued service passports are no longer entitled to use them now that their parliamentary terms have ended.

“The honourable title also ends with that passport. We don’t expect that they use these passports after that,” he said.

He revealed that several former ministers have already returned their diplomatic passports and have been issued ordinary passports in compliance with the law.

Simon Peter Mundeyi

According to Mundeyi, the government initially issued some MPs passports with a validity period extending beyond their term of office, but that does not grant them the right to continue using the documents after leaving Parliament.

He expressed confidence that the remaining former legislators would voluntarily surrender their passports, noting that the ministry does not intend to pursue them individually.

“We are not going to run after them. They are honourable enough to know that the term of service has ended,” he said.

The ministry maintains that diplomatic passports are reserved for serving senior government officials, while service passports are designated for officials undertaking state duties. Once an individual ceases to hold such office, they must transition to ordinary passports like other citizens.

DIPLOMATIC AND SERVICE PASSPORTS

Uganda’s Diplomatic (red) and Service (green) passports are official travel documents issued by the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control (DCIC) to eligible state officials and civil servants travelling on official government duty.

They are reserved for top-ranking state officials and diplomats representing Uganda internationally. Eligible individuals include the President, Vice President, Speaker of Parliament, Cabinet Ministers, Judges, Ambassadors, and recognized cultural leaders. Spouses of qualifying officers and their children under 18 may also be eligible if residing abroad.

On the other hand, service passports are issued to other government officials, technocrats, and professionals travelling to perform official government functions.

Qualified individuals include; Members of Parliament, university Chancellors/Vice-Chancellors, Heads of Government Departments, members of permanent commissions, and specific religious leaders (Archbishops of the Church of Uganda, Roman Catholic, Seventh Day Adventist, Orthodox Patriarch, and Supreme Mufti). Additionally, individuals authorized by the Minister of Internal Affairs are eligible.