As dozens braved the morning rain to queue for their renewed National Identity cards on Thursday.At the Wakiso 52 NIRA office in Naluvule, by 9 am, an official only identified as Raymond would be heard asking crowds to stay away from his colleague, who was seemingly overwhelmed by random questions.
From those asking why their IDs couldn’t be found and yet received messages to pick them up to those confused on where to pick theirs, the queues kept piling until it turned chaotic, and dozens were seen in a push and pull to be served first.
Agnes Nantaba, who applied for ID renewal on 8 May 2025. She was one of the earliest applicants at the NIRA office on Thursday. Despite receiving messages confirming completion of her registration, officials said her card could not be traced.
Also turned away was Fridah Nakyeyune, who told URN that she had started off the search for her ID from the Wakiso 52 office on Wednesday before being referred to a NIRA office in Masooli, where she finally found her ID on Thursday.
According to Claire Ollama, the Registrar, these complaints were not unique to the Wakiso 52 office. She explained that the effort by the Authority to ensure that the renewed National identity cards are issued has not gone smoothly.
One of the consequences is the big turn-up, and therefore leading to overcrowding at the collection centres. NIRA had tried to create more collection points too, but that has equally come with another challenge.
For instance, she says, cards initially planned to be distributed at the Wakiso 52 issuance center have been redistributed to different points in the district, such that those from Nalya or Gayaza don’t have to move all the way but find them at Masooli, Manyangwa, or at the Martyrs Shrine in Namugongo.
Acknowledging a mix-up in communication, she says some applicants run to collection points as soon as they receive messages indicating that their registration was complete, and yet they are supposed to wait until they get another message confirming that their document is ready for pick up.
The ongoing campaign that started in May 2025 targets renewal of 15.8 million expired national IDs and registration of 17.2 million new applicants, including Ugandans turning 16 and those previously unregistered.
Ollama says the turnout is good, noting that, in some places, they have managed to distribute up to 800 cards in one day and that they plan to distribute eighty thousand cards in one month.
Responding to concerns of inactive new cards, the registrar said all dispensed cards have been activated after they onboarded companies on an alternative verification method. She encouraged users to visit service centers and not agents while doing transactions or registration, where a National ID is a requirement. URN