Kwania NIRA workers accused of extortion during ID collections

Complaints regarding the collection of shs1,000 from residents have emerged against NIRA staff in Kwania district during the distribution of National Identity Cards.

Residents, including Agness Amute and Esther Odyek from Atongtidi sub-county, alleged that staff demanded the money for “tea and lunch” before releasing their IDs.

One NIRA official, speaking anonymously, claimed they were collecting the money because their official contracts had expired, leaving them to work without pay.

The Resident District Commissioner (RDC) of Kwania, Aturu Abraham, stated that he had not yet received a formal report but emphasised that ID collection is free.

Atura promised to investigate the matter.

Wilfred Okumu, the NIRA officer for Kwania, confirmed that while the contracts of some of their personnel had ended, they were expected to work as volunteers.

Okumu said he would withdraw equipment from the affected sub-county and dismiss the involved support staff.

Early this month, Rosemary Kisembo, NIRA Executive Director told Parliament that they had printed 12 million ID cards and distributed 10.5 million.

As of April 6, only 3 million IDs had been collected – leaving 9 million cards yet to be collected.