At least 11 people have been arrested over corruption-related offenses in the ongoing National Identity Card registration and renewal exercise, which has already seen more than nine million Ugandans registered in just four months.
The Minister of State for Internal Affairs, David Muhoozi, made the revelation while addressing Parliament on Tuesday, August 5, 2025. He said the suspects include temporary registration assistants, four National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) staff, and fraudsters posing as NIRA officials.
“NIRA is deeply concerned about the growing number of extortion and bribery complaints reported at service centres, involving impersonators, temporary registration personnel, and other individuals,” Muhoozi told Parliament.
The minister detailed how some individuals were selling free registration forms, soliciting bribes to allow people to jump queues, and demanding money at different stages of the process. The affected districts include Mubende, Mityana, Mukono, Wakiso, Busia, Kyotera, and Abim.
In Mubende, four temporary assistants were arrested, prosecuted, and dismissed. In Kyotera, a NIRA staff member, a trader, and a health worker were reportedly working together to exploit residents.
Muhoozi also noted that brokers pretending to be NIRA officials were taking advantage of citizens. In some instances, even local leaders were found to be soliciting bribes.
To counter the problem, government has introduced several measures including:
- A free online registration system.
- A pre-registration portal to reduce congestion.
- Toll-free helplines and emails for public complaints.
- Official uniforms and ID badges for NIRA staff to help citizens identify genuine officials.
“We emphasize once again that registration and renewal of National IDs is entirely free. We urge all Ugandans to remain vigilant, refuse to pay bribes, and promptly report any irregular activities,” Muhoozi said.
The minister also confirmed that over 9.1 million people had submitted applications since the exercise began in May 2025.
However, MPs raised concerns about logistical challenges in remote and island communities, which they said were enabling corruption.
Kalangala Woman MP, Helen Nakimuli, said island residents are being forced to move between islands to access registration services. “The officials often claim they lack transport facilitation to reach all locations,” she said.
Amuru Woman MP, Lucy Akello, noted that long distances between homes and registration centres were creating loopholes for extortion. “I was in Okidi, Atiak Sub-county, where I received a request to help hire a generator so that NIRA staff could travel further inland to register residents, particularly the elderly. They are operating with inadequate resources,” she said.
