Court Orders NIRA to Release MP Citizenship Records

The High Court in Mbale has ordered the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) to release certified registration records of two individuals at the centre of a citizenship dispute in an election petition challenging the qualification of Namisindwa County MP Metrine Nanzala.

The ruling, delivered on Tuesday through the Judiciary’s Electronic Court Case Management Information System (ECCMIS), arises from Parliamentary Election Petition No. 03 of 2026 filed by Apollo Masika, who is contesting Nanzala’s election and alleging that she is not a Ugandan citizen and therefore ineligible to hold parliamentary office.

Masika argues that Nanzala is not the biological child of Agnes Nelima and the late Michael Walyama, claiming the couple had only four children, among them Evans Wekesa, and that Nanzala is not part of the family. Nanzala, however, denies the allegations and insists that Nelima and Walyama are her biological parents. She supports her position with an affidavit from Agnes Nelima, who states that she and the late Walyama had five children, including Nanzala.

The conflicting accounts over the family lineage created a central factual dispute in the petition, prompting Masika to seek access to official records held by NIRA relating to Agnes Nelima and Evans Wekesa. He argued that the records would help verify the accuracy of affidavits submitted in court and establish the true composition of the family relevant to determining Nanzala’s citizenship and eligibility.

NIRA, through its Manager of Legal and Advisory Services, Brenda Kezaabu Agaba, told the court that information in the National Identification Register is protected by law but may be released upon a court order. Nanzala opposed the application, arguing that the affected individuals were not parties to the proceedings and had not been served. She also contended that the application was frivolous and that the court lacked jurisdiction because a statutory procedure exists for accessing such information.

Her lawyers further argued that she had been improperly joined in the application, as no direct orders were being sought against her. In his ruling delivered on June 2, 2026, Justice Dr. Farouk Lubega dismissed all preliminary objections and affirmed the High Court’s jurisdiction to order access to information held in the National Identification Register where it is necessary for the determination of a case.

The judge held that courts, as government institutions, are entitled under the law to access such information when required for judicial proceedings. He also rejected claims of improper joinder, noting that any decision arising from the application would directly affect Nanzala’s interests in the underlying election petition. Justice Lubega observed that the key issue before the court was whether Agnes Nelima and the late Michael Walyama had four or five children, and whether Nanzala is among their biological children.

Finding that the requested records could assist in resolving that dispute, the judge granted the application and ordered NIRA to provide certified copies of all registration details relating to Agnes Nelima and Evans Wekesa contained in the National Identification Register. He further directed that the costs of the application would be determined by the outcome of the main election petition.

The dispute comes against a background of earlier scrutiny of Nanzala’s citizenship. In September 2025, NIRA Executive Director Rosemary Kisembo issued her a seven-day ultimatum to prove her Ugandan citizenship, citing concerns that she may hold Kenyan nationality. The notice warned that failure to provide satisfactory proof could lead to cancellation of her registration under the Registration of Persons Act on grounds of inaccurate or fraudulent information.Nanzala, who won the January 2026 parliamentary election with 9,521 votes against Apollo Masika’s 6,196, has previously appealed for protection from what she described as a politically charged battle during the NRM MPs’ retreat in April 2026, where she said she felt targeted in the ongoing dispute.

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