The Ugandan government has extended the validity of approximately 15.8 million National IDs, which were set to expire between August 2024 and December 2025, by one year.

This extension is aimed at ensuring the continuity of business within Uganda.

This announcement was made by Gen. David Muhoozi, the Minister of State for Internal Affairs, during his appearance before Parliament’s Defence and Internal Affairs Committee.

He was there to provide an update on the mass enrolment, renewal, and registration of new National IDs, as planned by the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA).

Minister Muhoozi informed the Committee that there are 17.2 million unregistered citizens, while 3.7 million cards are set to expire by January 2025. The IDs expiring between August 2024 and December 31, 2025, total 15.8 million.

Additionally, NIRA is required to deliver data to the Electoral Commission by November 30, 2024, to be used as the national voters’ register ahead of the 2026 general elections.

However, the mass enrolment exercise, originally scheduled for June 2024, faced delays due to the necessary due diligence on the company responsible for delivering the national security system to be used in the exercise. The contract was finally signed on July 8, 2024.

The mass enrolment and renewal of national identity cards, initially set to begin on June 1, has been postponed several times for various reasons.

Rosemary Kisembo, the Executive Director of NIRA, has previously assured that the government is making every effort to ensure that IDs are renewed before the 2026 general elections.

Ugandans first registered for national IDs in 2014, and the renewal process will be free of charge.