There is no wedding without a national identification number – URSB

Ugandans without a National Identification Number (NIN) will not be able to enter into valid marriages.

The Uganda Registration Bureau (URSB), the government agency responsible for civil registration, issued a notice in early August of a mandatory requirement for places of worship and other interested parties licensed to sanctify marriages on behalf of the government.

Denis Nabende, URSB public relations manager, confirmed the development. He said all marriages, including customary, ecclesiastical and civil marriages, would now require a national identity card.

NIN is a set of numbers allocated to an individual upon successful registration by the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA). This is an 11-digit unique identifier assigned to a specific person.

“Previously, churches did not require any ID documents. For example, if someone wants to get married, perhaps in the Catholic Church, they should present a baptism card. Nowadays, this baptism card cannot be used as an identity card because there would be no proof that the person was presenting it,” he said.

“We need to know who is actually getting married in order to be able to enter them in the National Marriage Register. So after providing this name, we will be able to register in the National Marriage Register… we need this ID card,” he added.

However, as of press time, no details have been provided regarding the implementation of the new requirement, including its effective date.

Nevertheless, the Uganda Catholic Secretariat, in a letter dated August 28 to its churches, wrote: “We have received information from the URSB regarding the current essential requirements for entering into a valid church marriage… please disseminate this information to appropriate parishes so that we can comply with applicable Civil Law requirements in preparing couples to enter into marriage.”

Bishop John B. Kauta, secretary general of the Catholic Secretariat, told this publication that the letter is simply intended to comply with the law, not to initiate the Church.

“They want people intending to get married to be prepared for the need to register their marriage and have an ID card. So it’s not a big deal, it’s just the law of Uganda…we just follow what we are told,” he said.

Marriages entered into before the new requirement came into force remain valid, although it is possible that couples will be required to provide identification in the future.

Mr Nabende told this publication on October 1 that the changes are aimed at making the marriage registry more reliable and in line with legal requirements.

“It’s actually an easy process because you just need to attach a copy of your ID card in addition to the documents you provide. So when they send us the files, we also enter this ID card into the register,” he said.

The Persons Registration Act, as amended, transferred marriage registration functions from URSB to NIRA; an authority that also issues identity documents. The transition has not yet entered into force, but the new solution will be one of the solutions adopted by NIRA when it finally takes over its functions.

However, the news sparked mixed reactions, including concern that it would exclude many people who want to get married but do not have ID.

Church of Uganda Provincial Secretary Balaam Muheebwa said he was yet to receive a communication from the government.

“I saw a letter from the Catholic Church that talks about it, so I assume ours will come, and if it comes, maybe I haven’t seen it… I need to take a look at it, we will understand the content and then we will see how to apply it. That’s the law, we may not have much to do. However, if we have an area where we can give you feedback, we can look at it and see if we can make proposals,” he said.

“We have cases where people do not have ID documents. Our church receives a lot of applications for December weddings for immigrants living abroad. I don’t know how they advised us what to do next. I want to know if there are any options. These are the questions we want to understand. Are there options? Or maybe we could talk to the URSB and see how we would handle these things?” he added.

Pheona Nabasa Wall, a lawyer and former president of the Uganda Law Society, said the new requirement would go a long way to solving identity theft cases and making the law easier to implement.

“Currently in Uganda, the most recognizable form of identification is an ID card. “Originally they still required identification under LC1… the citizenship issue is important because marriage can give you citizenship rights, certain benefits, residency benefits and things like that,” she said.