Ugandans Face Endless Frustrations in Collecting National IDs Amid Delays and Confusion

Ugandans across the country are facing significant hurdles in collecting their National Identification cards, despite receiving SMS alerts that their IDs are ready. Many report making repeated trips to collection points only to find their cards missing, leading to frustration and wasted time.

Applicants like Robert Tebandeke from Lukuli-Makindye have visited offices multiple times since January without success. Others at Wakiso and Kampala Central describe long queues, lack of guidance, and no updates since registration. Online complaints echo these issues, with users in Gulu reporting IDs stuck in wrong boxes and new cards failing to activate for banking or SIM registration.

Sudden relocations exacerbate the problem. At Kampala Central on Lumumba Avenue, people were redirected to Kololo without prior notice, forcing extra transport costs and time off work. Tom Mbalinda called it his third futile visit, highlighting the financial burden.

NIRA communications officer Peter Okwalinga attributes delays to high demand post-mass enrolment, shifts from sub-county to district issuance, and applicant errors like wrong categories. He noted 41,000 cards issued nationwide in one day and upgrades to systems for partner compatibility, urging case-by-case verifications for mismatches.

Parliament’s Defense and Internal Affairs Committee grilled NIRA executive director Rose Kisembo on unconfirmed alerts and distribution woes. Of 15 million planned IDs, 12 million are printed and 10.5 million distributed, but only 3 million collected. Staffing shortages—418 employees for millions of cards—add to the strain, with plans to resend accurate messages.

These delays hinder access to vital services like banking, jobs, telecoms, and voting, raising serious questions about NIRA’s efficiency.

Source: Daily Monitor (Uganda)