The National Identification Registration Authority (NIRA) has denied the claim of issuing a National Identification Card to non-citizens of Uganda.

This stemmed from a statement issued on Monday by the Immigration Office under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that they had confiscated over 10,000 National IDs from foreigners masquerading as Ugandan citizens.

Osborn Mushabe, the NIRA Spokesperson, explained on Tuesday, August 15, 2023, that the duty to identify Ugandan citizens and foreigners lies with the local council as one authority.

“The registration Authority relies on the information provided by the lower government structures, like the LCI, who issue stamps, and we expect that they have done their due diligence in verifying that these people are citizens before they are issued with stamps,” Mushabe said.

He noted that, once such persons have been issued stamps and recommended for the registration of national IDs, it becomes hard not to register them.