Support new ID project, NIRA tells Ugandans

The appeal was made by the authority’s board chairperson, Joseph Biribonwa.

Biribonwa said the new program is meant to ensure Ugandans have new national identity cards with better security features.

He further appealed to Ugandans to keep their National IDs safely.

Mass registration for the exercise is expected to start in June but no specific date has been fixed, yet.

Mid last year, NIRA announced it will start a new round of the national identity card registration exercise in June this year as the current IDs are due for expiry in 2024.

Internal Affairs minister Kahinda Otafiire disclosed this while speaking to journalists.

He explained that the current National IDs have a life span of ten years, which is elapsing in 2024. Otafiire revealed that in 2024, the country will migrate to improved and user-friendly National IDs due to the improvement in technology and demands of modernity.

He explained that they issued National IDs with a life span of 10 years hoping that there would be technological innovations requiring the change of the feature on the IDs. According to Otafiire, the new National ID will contain several features, which wouldn't necessarily require the change of the current NIN.

“As technology improves, we shall also improve therefore we give the identity cards a lifespan of 10 years hoping that within those 10 years there will be innovation and new features appearing on the identity card. Your ID will not cease, no, no, your biodata that was captured then and the improvements that will be done now as we move, we shall increase the variety and variables captured on your ID,” he said.