Published on 16/08/2024
Rosemary Kisembo, the Executive Director of the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA), has assured Parliament that the upcoming mass enrollment exercise for renewing and registering Ugandans for national identity cards will not be disrupted by the frequent closure of Kololo Ceremonial Grounds.
The grounds are often closed for public events, which has caused interruptions in NIRA’s operations.

Kisembo clarified that the mass enrollment will be conducted at the parish level, utilizing three distributed data processing sites separate from Kololo. “Even if there is an event at Kololo, the work will continue at the other processing sites designated for this exercise,” Kisembo explained while appearing before Parliament’s Defence and Internal Affairs Committee.
She was responding to concerns raised by Wilson Kajwengye (Nyabushozi County), who questioned whether NIRA, already behind schedule, would meet its deadlines despite the disruptions at Kololo. “You reported to us that NIRA loses 30 working days due to the occupation of Kololo. Given the tight deadlines, when every hour counts, we need reassurance that continued occupation of Kololo Ceremonial Grounds will not affect the delivery timeline,” Kajwengye emphasized.
Minister of State for Internal Affairs, David Muhoozi, acknowledged the need for a permanent home for NIRA to end the constant disruptions at their Kololo headquarters. “Kololo has been a provisional location, but it has constraints. We are aware of the time lost during these disruptions. However, regarding the upcoming exercise, I want to assure you that we will continue our work because of its critical importance to the country. We are seeking a permanent home for NIRA, although it has not yet been budgeted for,” Muhoozi stated.
During the meeting on August 15, Christine Nakimwelo (Kiboga District Woman Representative) questioned the rationale behind renewing national IDs, arguing that the process is costly and unnecessary since the IDs are uniquely tied to individuals. “Why do we need to renew these IDs? It’s expensive for the nation and for the people, who will have to pay. Even if I die, no one can use my ID because the fingerprints are unique to me. So why should we renew them? This is a public concern,” Nakimwelo remarked.
In response, Minister Muhoozi explained, “We renew because the card itself wears out, and internationally, individual features change over a decade, which is why we renew every 10 years. Ideally, we should move towards digital renewals instead of physical cards. There are no financial implications for expired IDs; it’s just a legal process that has been done at no cost.”
Muhoozi also assured the Committee that despite a nearly three-month delay, the government has implemented contingency measures to meet the set deadlines. “We believe we will meet the timelines, and we have contingencies in place to ensure that no one is disenfranchised. The mass enrollment of IDs has significant importance beyond just elections,” he added.
According to NIRA, 27.3 million Ugandans are registered with national IDs, while 17.3 million cards have been issued. The scheduled countrywide exercise aims to renew 15.8 million IDs due to expire starting August 26, 2024, and to register 17.2 million unregistered citizens. The exercise also aims to extract the electoral register by November 30, 2024.
Muhoozi revealed that several key items, including the delivery of 500,600,50 biometric kits, blank cards, and software modules, are already in place ahead of the exercise.