By The government has extended the validity of expired national identification cards for an additional year as it falls behind schedule on the renewal process. Most of these IDs, initially issued between 2004 and 2005 with a 10-year validity period, are now set to remain in use longer than anticipated due to delays in producing new ones.
The delay stems from ongoing issues with selecting contractors to handle the production of new national IDs, raising concerns that many Ugandans will continue using expired documents before the renewal process is completed. State Minister for Internal Affairs, Gen. David Muhoozi, informed Parliament’s Committee on Defence that the government is significantly behind schedule in processing the new IDs.
The National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) reported last week that approximately 15.8 million national IDs are expected to expire by August 2024. Earlier in May, Minister Muhoozi had announced that the mass issuance of IDs to new citizens and the renewal of existing ones would begin on June 1, 2024, and continue until September 30, 2025.
However, the mass enrollment and renewal exercise faced delays, with NIRA’s Executive Director, Rose Kisembo, citing unforeseen circumstances in the procurement process. Originally set to start on June 1, 2024, the exercise was postponed to the end of July 2024, but it has since experienced further delays.
In response, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has confirmed that citizens with expired national IDs can still use them for travel within East Africa, as the national identification number (NIN) on the cards remains valid and is the most critical feature. The upcoming new IDs will include enhanced security features, such as iris recognition.
Despite these assurances, the delay in renewing national IDs raises concerns about the government’s capacity to manage the process effectively and may cause inconvenience for citizens relying on these documents for identification and travel.
