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The Bishop of Fort Portal Catholic Diocese, Rt. Rev. Robert K. Muhiirwa Akiiki, has participated in the ongoing mass National ID renewal exercise, with a call on all Ugandans to embrace this free opportunity & renew their IDs or register for the first time for those who have not yet done so.
Speaking yesterday shortly after his registration alongside religious leaders and priests at Bishop’s residence in Kijanju Ward, Fort Portal City, Bishop Muhiirwa commended the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) for the ongoing work. He explained the importance of the National ID as a vital document and form of identification for all Ugandans, necessary for accessing services such as education, employment, banking, business registration, obtaining travel documents among others
Free Registration
The Bishop also praised the Government of Uganda through NIRA for making the exercise accessible to all, regardless of financial status, by ensuring that the registration process remains completely free of charge.
About the Exercise
Meanwhile, Junior Akampurira, the NIRA Registration Officer for Kabarole District, clarified that the exercise caters for both individuals renewing their National IDs and those registering for the first time, with priority being given to those who registered in 2014 and 2015, as the law requires ID renewal to begin at least two months before expiry.
According to Akampurira, approximately 25 million Ugandans have already registered for National IDs, with an estimated 17 million more first timers expected to register during this ongoing exercise.
He also addressed cases to do with correcting errors on their ID cards, such as incorrect names, birthdates, or age, saying Individuals must handle these at designated NIRA offices, adding that such corrections are not processed in the field due to processes involved.
Akampurira further noted that, like any other official documents, National IDs have features that can expire, for example the updated IDs include enhanced security features such as iris recognition, which were not available in the previous versions.
The nationwide registration and renewal exercise began on May 27, 2025, and is set to run until late November 2025, aiming to serve more than 15.8 million Ugandans whose IDs have expired, as well as first-time applicants.
