KAMPALA -UGANDA August 15, 2024: Government has extended the validity of national identification cards (IDs) for at least another one year following delayed process to renew the national IDs.
Last week, the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) stated that at least 15.8 million IDs are expected to expire by August next year.
The State Minister for Internal Affairs, Gen David Muhoozi, told the Committee of Defence in Parliament that government is behind schedule to process the new IDs. Most national IDs were issued between 2004 and 2005 with a 10-year validity.
The government, however, has been non-committal on the process to carry out the production of new national IDs sparking fears that most Ugandans will be likely to carry expiry national IDs next year.
In May, Minister Muhoozi said registration for mass issuance of IDs to new citizens as well as the renewal exercise was to start on June 1 and run up to September 30, 2025. The mass enrollment exercise was however pushed back by a month before the NIRA Executive Director, Rose Kisembo, said the exercise had to be postponed due to unforeseen circumstances.
“The mass enrollment and renewal exercise was set to start on June, 1, 2024 but due to unforeseen delays in the procurement process, the exercise didn’t take off. Nevertheless, by the end of July, 2024, the exercise will commence,” Kisembo said in June.
Further postponement followed in July with Internal Affairs ministry later announcing that citizens with expired national IDs will still be able to use them to travel across East Africa using the documents.
Legislators were concerned whether the extension won’t result into disruptions at borders and immigration centers as Ugandans present expired IDs; to which Gen Muhoozi responded in the negative saying government will communicate to governments especially in the East African region about this decision.
“Yes it (expired IDs) will be honored but we need to communicate especially to our regional neighbors and we are starting now with you the leaders so that people are and businesses are not disrupted” Gen. David Muhoozi said.
