Uganda's Home Affairs Ministry has run out of blank passports it can issue, with applicants being turned away except for cases involving medical emergencies.
An official ministry statement blamed the shortage on the country's imminent switch to electronic passports, saying procurement issues were to blame.
But according to a Deutsche Welle source, UK-based printers of Ugandan passports have halted production of the identity documents after Uganda fell back on its payments.
In comments acknowledging the shortage, the country's commissioner for passport control said the country had been issuing some 700 passports a day to keep up with demand, which was being fuelled by demand for labour in the Middle East.