Over 450,000 share identical names, birthdates, says NIRA

Kampala, Uganda: The National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) has revealed that more than 450,000 Ugandans currently registered in the National Identification Register share identical names and exact date of birth, a situation it says justifies the importance of biometric data in distinguishing citizens.

The shocking revelation was made by NIRA Executive Director, Ms Rosemary Kisembo while speaking to the media at the Uganda Law Society House in Kampala, where experts poked holes in privacy and data protection gaps in Uganda’s National ID system.

“In our system, we have over 450,000 people who share the same three names and the same date of birth,” Ms Kisembo disclosed. “That’s why biometrics, such as facial recognition, fingerprints, and iris scans, are essential to avoid duplication and fraud.”

The NIRA boss was responding to data privacy concerns raised by Advocate Apollo Muhindo, who questioned whether NIRA was adequately safeguarding personal data during the ongoing mass ID enrollment and renewal exercise.

“We are dealing with highly sensitive personal data, names, dates of birth, biometrics, and other unique identifiers. This isn’t just a technical matter; it affects the rights, dignity, and safety of citizens,” said Muhindo.

But Ms Kisembo in response defended NIRA’s mandate, emphasizing that every identity record of a registered Ugandan national is backed by biometric verification, which is the authority’s primary safeguard against duplication, identity theft, and impersonation.

“You can’t rely on names alone in a country where hundreds of thousands share the same ones,” she said. “That is why we insist on biometric identifiers as the only way to guarantee uniqueness in identity.”

Kisembo also clarified that while names and other demographic details can legally be corrected under existing laws, core identity markers like fingerprints and facial data provide the highest assurance of accuracy.

NIRA has so far registered over 27.8 million Ugandans in its national database, with 17 million issued with National IDs. The mass enrollment and renewal exercise currently underway across the country aims to address inaccuracies, update expired IDs, and register all eligible citizens ahead of the 2026 general elections.

The ED also noted that despite growing concern over data privacy and accessibility, NIRA has expanded its reach to all parishes in Uganda and is actively collaborating with the Personal Data Protection Office to audit and strengthen privacy compliance.