Shs 90 Million Extorted by NIRA Officials in Kabale — RDC Katamba

Kabale, Uganda — At least Shs 90 million has allegedly been extorted from residents in Kabale District by officials from the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) during the ongoing mass registration and renewal of National IDs, according to the Kabale Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Major Godfrey Katamba.

On Thursday, 16 October, security operatives carried out an operation in Butanda and Kahungye Sub-counties, arresting five NIRA officials, including one broker, following several complaints from residents. Security recovered Shs 500,000 in cash from the suspects, believed to have been collected through illegal sale of ID renewal forms.

RDC Katamba revealed that the officials were demanding money from residents, claiming it was meant to buy fuel for generators used during the registration exercise.

“They were asking the public to give them money for fuel, but this is the responsibility of NIRA — not the residents,” Major Katamba said. “Those caught extorting money will be arraigned in court for trial.”

The RDC further said that the issue had already been raised with NIRA officials from Kampala during a security meeting, where they were warned to end the malpractice.

He also criticized NIRA for recruiting staff from town areas, saying the decision has created room for extortion and disorganization.

“NIRA should have recruited people from the specific areas where they work, not bringing people from town to exploit innocent residents,” Katamba added.

Katamba further revealed that some officials were allegedly registering non-Ugandans, particularly Rwandan nationals from across the border.

“We even intercepted chits that Rwandese were given to be allowed to register by some NIRA officials,” he said.

According to preliminary investigations, NIRA officials in the area have been charging residents between Shs 10,000 and Shs 20,000 for services that are supposed to be free. Katamba estimated that over Shs 90 million has already been extorted during the ongoing exercise.

He assured residents that security agencies are closely monitoring the situation and anyone implicated will face legal action.

However, one of the NIRA officials, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that the RDC was exaggerating the issue since it only involved two sub-counties and the amount in question was less than one million. The official added that NIRA is already handling the matter and will dismiss all employees found to be involved.