The National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) is set to use a three-day identity expo to educate Ugandans about the importance of legal identification and how identity documents can influence access to essential services.
The My Identity Expo and Symposium 2026 will take place from September 24 to 26, 2026, at Kololo Independence Grounds. The original Mulengera News page carries the publication date September 8, 2026.
The event will bring together government agencies, private-sector institutions, development partners and citizens to discuss the growing importance of legal identity in Uganda.
NIRA says the expo will give citizens an opportunity to understand why identification is important, who should be registered, when registration should take place and how the registration process works.
The authority says legal identity can help people access a wide range of services, including healthcare, education, financial services, employment, travel and social protection.
The expo comes at a time when NIRA is seeking to close a registration gap involving approximately 10 million people.
NIRA Executive Director Rosemary Kisembo said the authority currently has 35.58 million Ugandans on the national register, representing 74.9 percent of the country’s population.
Kisembo said Uganda needs to move faster because the international target of ensuring that everyone has a legal identity by 2030 is approaching.
She explained that the expo was organised partly because information about identification is often spread across different sectors, leaving some citizens without a clear understanding of how legal identity affects their lives.
Kisembo said the event will create a platform where stakeholders and citizens can meet, ask questions and discuss the importance of identification.
New Vision Group Chief Executive Officer Don Wanyama, whose organisation is among the partners supporting the event, said Ugandans should understand that legal identity is more than simply possessing a national ID card.
Wanyama said an identity can become a gateway to important services such as education, healthcare, financial services, employment, travel and social protection.
He encouraged Ugandans to attend the expo and engage directly with institutions responsible for identification and other public services.
The financial sector is also expected to benefit from stronger identification systems.
Representing the Governor of the Bank of Uganda, Commercial Bank Executive Director for Risk and Strategy Philip Wabulya said harmonised identification systems could help tackle fraud, money laundering and multiple borrowing while promoting financial inclusion.
He explained that financial institutions need reliable systems to establish that customers are genuinely who they claim to be.
This is particularly important when people open bank accounts, access loans, make investments and conduct other financial transactions.
Wabulya said a unique identifier can also help distinguish people who have similar names and allow financial institutions to develop more accurate credit histories.
He added that linking identity systems to financial services could make it easier for people to access investments and establish ownership of assets left behind by deceased relatives.
The importance of identification is also growing as Uganda expands its digital government services.
NITA-U Director of E-Government Services Julian Rweju said digital government services depend on the ability to establish and authenticate the identity of people accessing them.
She explained that as more government services move online, reliable identification will become increasingly important.
According to Rweju, stronger digital identification would allow government systems to work together more effectively and make it easier for citizens to access services.
The Uganda Revenue Authority is also interested in stronger identification systems.
URA Assistant Commissioner of Client Services Christine Mirembe urged Ugandans to provide accurate information when registering.
She said reliable identity information is important for government planning because authorities need accurate data about the population when designing and delivering services.
The My Identity Expo and Symposium will be supported by institutions including New Vision, KCCA, UCC, URA, NITA-U and NSSF.
The event will also contribute to Uganda’s activities marking World Identity Day on September 16, a global campaign supporting the goal of universal legal identity by 2030.
NIRA hopes the expo will help close the information gap between citizens and institutions while encouraging more Ugandans to register and obtain legal identity documents.
