Published on 22/07/2024
National Identification and Registrations Authority (NIRA) faced scrutiny for its inability to register aliens residing in Uganda blocking their access to essential services and leading to revenue shortfalls.
An Auditor General’s report from December 2023 revealed that NIRA collected only UGX 7.04 billion out of a projected UGX. 15 billion in Non-Tax Revenue for the 2022/23 fiscal year achieving just 47% of its target.

During a July 1, 2024, meeting with the Committee of Commissions, Statutory Authorities, and State Enterprises (COSASE), NIRA’s Executive Director, Rosemary Kisembo, attributed the Authority’s failure to start the Alien Registration, which was expected to generate up to UGX7.96 billion in revenue, to issues beyond NIRA’s control. The upgrade of the old system or the development of a new one was necessary after Muhlbauer High Tech International, the previous contractor, refused to surrender its intellectual property, preventing NIRA from modifying the system to fit its needs.
“The Alien Register was not included when the NIRA system was initially developed because NIRA didn’t exist at the time. The software only focused on citizens and adult registration. In 2019, after the expiration of the service provider’s contract, we acquired a new one but still didn’t obtain the intellectual property rights,” explained Kisembo.
NIRA projected that the cost of alien registration is US$100 and expected to register 30,000 of the 60,000 legally residing aliens in Uganda during 2022/23, which would have raised US$3 million (UGX 11 billion).
“Alien Registration has been incorporated into the new system we hope to acquire by the end of this month. It became costly to add only one module to the old system, especially since we are just one year away from changing the entire system,” added Kisembo.
Eddie Kwizera, the Bukimbiri County MP asked why NIRA acquired a new service provider, Uganda Security Printing Company, without securing the necessary intellectual property rights to facilitate the registration of aliens.
Winnie Kabeije, Director Legal at NIRA, stated that the service provider was imposed by the government following a joint venture agreement in October 2018 between the German Consortium Veridos, the Ministry of Finance, the Office of the President, and the Uganda Printing and Publishing Corporation (UPPC).
“This is a self-accounting body. If a company was imposed on you and it fails to perform, what recourse do you have? Did they also impose the price and cost?” Kwizera asked.
Sseggona questioned the legal capacity of the Office of the President to represent the government as a shareholder in this joint venture. Kabeije admitted that she did not address this legal provision when the new service provider was acquired.
“No lawyer would overlook such a fundamental issue. You should have ensured legal compliance at the outset. In the privatization process, the Minister of Finance and the Minister of State for Finance are legal entities that can sign joint ventures and own shares in government interests. But here, the Office of the President signed on behalf of Uganda. There must be enabling legislation for this,” responded Sseggona.
Kisembo later clarified that the issue of intellectual property would be resolved with the acquisition of the new system. “It’s uncommon for security printing intellectual property, especially involving biometrics and public infrastructure, to be surrendered due to the high cost of research. For the new system, we are using an open-source tool that we are customizing to fit our needs.”
Section 5 of the Registration of Persons Act 2015 requires NIRA to register non-citizens lawfully residing in Uganda and issue alien identification cards. Regulation 3 of the Registration of Persons Regulations 2015 states that the National Identification Register shall include information on registered aliens.
The Auditor General noted that although NIRA planned to register eligible aliens for the past six years, no aliens have been registered to date. The current system lacks the functionality for alien registration, which is expected to be addressed by the new system under development by USPC.
“Legally residing aliens may face difficulties accessing services requiring national IDs as stipulated in Section 66 of the Registration of Persons Act. This can also challenge law enforcement, national security, and private sector entities that rely on NIRA for information,” the Auditor General noted.
The Auditor General recommended that NIRA conduct a cost-benefit analysis to support alien registration. If found unviable, NIRA should consider alternative options, including expediting the development of the functionality in the new system.