Over 9.1 million Ugandans register for national IDs

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Over 9.1 million Ugandans have either renewed or registered for national identity cards since the start of the ongoing six-month mass exercise in May 2025, New Vision Online has learnt.

Speaking to the media at Police headquarters in Naguru, Kampala, on August 11, National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) registrar and project communication champion Claire Ollama said the exercise, which started on May 27, has so far seen over 8.2 million renewals and more than 800,000 first-time registrations.

“Our goal is to renew 15.8 million expiring IDs and register 17.2 million new applicants. We are one-third of the way through the timeline, but at about 78% of where we ideally should be by now,” Ollama said.

“This shows good momentum, but we still have some ground to cover — especially in registering children.”

She urged parents, guardians, teachers and community leaders to ensure children are registered, calling it a “one-time, lifelong gift” that unlocks essential services such as birth certificates, travel documents, scholarships, medical insurance and bank accounts.

Ollama also warned against corruption in the exercise, saying registration is free and strictly first-come, first-served, with no fast-tracking outside the official gazetted express service, which is currently inactive.

“We have made arrests and opened investigations to safeguard the integrity of this process. We call on the public to report suspicious activity and help us with evidence for successful prosecution,” she said.

On the pace of feedback to applicants, Ollama acknowledged delays but said production and dispatch of IDs are ongoing and will ramp up as the process moves into a mass issuance phase.

She also announced intensified registration during the school holidays as part of the Africa Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Month activities, with kits deployed to district hubs like BOMA grounds to reach children who missed school-based registration.

NIRA is also expanding diaspora registration, with teams in Australia this month covering Canberra, St Kilda, Albans, Parramatta, Blacktown, Logan and the Gold Coast.

Closing her remarks, Ollama congratulated Ugandan sports teams for their recent achievements, noting that all players and officials at the CHAN tournament possessed valid National IDs and birth certificates — proof of the importance of registration in promoting talent internationally.

“With four months left, every registration counts more than ever. We need every Ugandan to step up so that together we can cross the finish line strong,” she said.