KAMPALA, Uganda — Uganda’s Ministry of Internal Affairs has temporarily suspended passport issuance at its Kyambogo centre in Kampala following a fibre-optic cable cut that disrupted operations.
The disruption has also affected the Jinja Regional Passport Office, halting passport production and issuance, according to the National Citizenship and Immigration Control (NCIC).
In a statement issued on Thursday, the immigration directorate said the Kyambogo Passport Issuance Centre, formerly known as Face Technologies, was temporarily non-operational because of the network disruption.
“The Kyambogo Passport Issuance Centre (formerly Face Technologies) is temporarily non-operational due to a fibre cut, affecting passport issuance services,” the statement said.
The ministry said technical difficulties had also disrupted passport production and issuance at its Jinja regional office.
However, applicants can continue accessing passport services at the ministry’s headquarters in Kampala and regional offices in Mbale, Gulu, Mbarara and Arua.
The interruption is likely to inconvenience applicants who planned to collect their passports from Kyambogo or Jinja, particularly those with imminent travel commitments.
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Immigration spokesperson Simon Peter Mundeyi said technical teams were working with service providers to restore the affected services.
“Our technical teams, working together with our service providers, are making every effort to restore services as soon as possible,” Mundeyi said.
He apologised to affected applicants and urged them to remain patient as efforts to resolve the disruption continued.
The ministry did not specify when passport services would resume at the two affected centres or provide further details about the circumstances surrounding the fibre cut.
Members of the public seeking further information can contact the Ministry of Internal Affairs through its official communication channels or call 0417102600.
