More than 5.4 million national identity cards are stuck at NIRA, with Parliament questioning why citizens are taking too long to receive their IDs.
The revelation was made on Monday, September 7, 2026, when NIRA officials appeared before Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE).
NIRA Executive Director Rosemary Kisembo told MPs that the authority has printed about 15.4 million new national IDs, but only around 10 million have been issued, leaving approximately 5.4 million cards in NIRA’s custody.
Kisembo blamed the backlog largely on inadequate staffing following the expiry of the temporary workforce that had been supporting the mass enrolment and renewal exercise.
NIRA currently has an approved staff structure of 571 positions, but only 418 are filled, including just 201 employees who directly serve clients.
The authority is now asking Government to increase its approved establishment to 998 positions and provide 2,700 temporary workers for 18 months.
Kisembo said that even if temporary workers were brought back, it would take about nine months to distribute the outstanding cards if staff concentrated solely on card issuance.
But MPs questioned whether staffing alone explains the delays.
COSASE Deputy Chairperson George Musisi, the MP for Kira Municipality, said complaints from the public pointed to problems of efficiency and service delivery at NIRA offices.
He cited his own experience at a NIRA office, saying that even the simple process of collecting an already-printed ID card had become difficult.
“Just picking a card, not registration, picking a card is problematic,” Musisi told the committee.
Committee Chairperson Muwada Nkunyingi also raised concerns about cases where citizens with newly issued IDs are reportedly told that their details have not yet been activated or linked to the relevant systems.
Bungokho County South MP Geofrey Wokuri warned that the delays could also affect young people applying for driving permits, with some allegedly risking losses on payments made for driving training while waiting for their identification details to become operational.
NIRA said the driving-permit system is still being connected to the new identification system but that an interim solution has been put in place.
The authority says the proposed temporary workforce would also help it complete the renewal of about six million people, register an estimated 10.9 million people not yet on the national register, process changes in particulars and support birth and death registration.
However, Kisembo acknowledged that temporary recruitment would only provide short-term relief, warning that NIRA could return to the same staffing crisis once the temporary workers leave.
Under the Registration of Persons Act, NIRA is responsible for maintaining Uganda’s National Identification Register and registering citizens, lawful non-citizens, births and deaths.
