New NIRA board sworn in

Last updated on January 15th, 2024 at 11:10 am

The recently approved National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) board members have been sworn in.

Seven of the nine board members took the oath of office and secrecy at an event presided over by the Deputy Chief Justice, Alphonse Owiny-Dollo, at the High Court Kampala. Thereafter, they went to the NIRA offices in Kololo for the inauguration ceremony.

The new board and the second one since the establishment of NIRA in 2015 will be chaired by Joseph Biribonwa the former Vice-Chairperson Electoral Commission and an expert with over 40 years in democracy, governance, management, administration, finance, and corporate governance.

He will be deputized by the former Kalangala Woman Member of Parliament, Ruth Nvumetta Kavuma.

Other board members include James Saaka from National Information Technology Authority (NITA-U), Twebaze Bemenya from Uganda Registration Service Bureau (URSB), Dr. Paul Kintu from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Chris Mukiizi Ndatira from Uganda Bureau of Statistics, Dr. Betty Kivumbi Nanyonga and Maj. Gen. Apollo Kasita-Gowa from the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control.

Justice Simon Byabakama, the chairperson of the Electoral Commission had his contract renewed as a board member.

Last month, the cabinet approved the appointment of the new board members following the expiry of the term of office of the first board in June last year and the resignation of the board chairperson, Prof. Peter Kasenene in 2018.

Justice Owiny-Dollo urged the treat their new responsibilities with utmost seriousness and ensure that the country is safe, and every Ugandan has an identity document.

He noted that the current mess in the national ID acquisition processes need to be cleaned to ensure that every citizen gets their documents in real-time and through a transparent and efficient process.

He urged them to also sensitize Ugandans on the importance of IDs and the need to protect it.

In his acceptance speech, Biribonwa promised to find solutions to the challenges Ugandans face at the Authority and ensure that there is efficient delivery of services.

“We take in good faith the challenges mentioned. We will sit down and forge a way forward on how to resolve them,” he said.