NIRA calls upon Ugandans to register for birth and death certificates

With invent of new birth certificates, National Identification Registration Authority (NIRA) has called upon all Ugandans to go for both death and birth certificates. NIRA said this is done at a fee not exceeding Shs5, 000.

According to NIRA, registration can be done in all district offices across the country. Osborne Mushabe, the NIRA spokesperson, noted that the authority is mandated to register all births in the country on behalf of the government.

He noted that when one also loses their loved one, it’s incumbent upon them to register that person with NIRA to acquire a death certificate for them.

“NIRA gets its mandate from the Registration of Persons Act, section 4 and section 5. These are the sections that establish NIRA. We need to know that with the registration of birth, the state reserves all the rights. We need to tell our dear citizens that we moved on to the new system,” he said.

Mushabe explained that to access a birth certificate, one needs to have a National Identification Number (NIN). For children who haven’t acquired a national ID, it would be prudent for them to have a birth certificate which can be verified online.

With the issue of the death certificate, Mushabe said it’s important to have one after losing a loved one. He said this helps the government to plan for the country.

“These certificates are useful to help the government know the number of people in the country and accordingly plan for them. Death certificates also help in ascertaining the number of people who have died in a particular period,” he added.

The National Identification and Registration Authority is a government-owned organisation mandated to register births and deaths in the country. It is also mandated to develop a National Identification Register for both citizens and legally resident non-citizens.