By KT Reporter
Three officials from the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) in Kabale District are in police custody for allegedly soliciting bribes from residents seeking national identification services.
NIRA is a government agency mandated to register births and deaths, and to maintain the National Identification Register for citizens and legally resident non-citizens in Uganda.
The suspects, identified as Elias Kwesiga, Halima Kukundakwe, and Ronald Kwesiga, were arrested alongside their alleged brokers, Joseph Saali and Simpson Mugisha, and are currently detained at Kabale Central Police Station.
According to police, the arrests followed multiple complaints from residents who accused the officials of demanding money before offering services meant to be free of charge.
Investigations reveal that Kwesiga, Mugisha, and Saali were apprehended at Kinyamali Church of Uganda Compassion Centre in Butanda Sub-County after reportedly soliciting a total of 485,000 Shillings from residents under the guise of updating them on the ongoing exercise to issue upgraded National Identity Cards.
Similarly, Kukundakwe and Kwesiga were arrested at Rubaya Church of Uganda Compassion Centre in Kahungye Sub-County after allegedly collecting 86,000 Shillings from locals for the same purpose. Another broker, identified only as Milda, reportedly fled with additional money extorted from residents.
Kigezi Region Police Spokesperson Elly Maate confirmed the arrests, noting that the suspects were found red-handed with cash. He added that they will be charged in court once investigations are complete.
Maate said the police acted swiftly after receiving reports that the accused were demanding between 10,000 and 12,000 shillings per person to access NIRA services.
This is not the first time NIRA officials in Kabale have been accused of extortion. In April 2019, Simon Twasiima, the then NIRA Information Technology Officer for Butanda Sub-County, was arrested after residents accused him of charging between 7,500 and 100,000 Shillings for issuing ID cards and correcting biodata errors.
Twasiima later admitted to collecting the money, claiming it was meant to purchase storage equipment, and was compelled to refund 3.65 million Shillings to more than 300 affected residents.
The latest arrests have reignited public concern over corruption and abuse of office among field officials of NIRA, an institution central to Uganda’s citizen registration and identification system.
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