NIDA Director General Josephine Mukesha said the exercise is currently being completed in the Northern and Western provinces.

“We are finishing the exercise in the Northern and Western provinces. Our teams are in Gakenke, Karongi, Gicumbi and Rutsiro, and we will start in Rulindo on Tuesday,” Mukesha told The New Times.

“We have reached over eight million people who have been registered, and more than seven million have already been photographed,” she said.

The government aims to phase out the current national identity cards by June 2027, by which time more than 14 million citizens are expected to have been photographed.

Mukesha said incomplete or inaccurate personal information remains one of the challenges slowing participation in the exercise. This is particularly the case for children who have not been registered in civil-status records or whose details contain errors.

She urged parents who have not yet registered their children to do so at their local sector offices before the photographing exercise begins. Citizens can also use the Irembo platform to review and correct personal details, including dates of birth.

The digital ID exercise began in the Southern Province in October 2025 before expanding to other parts of the country.

In Kigali, the photographing exercise had already been completed, meaning residents who missed it would ordinarily have to travel to another province. However, NIDA opened a stand at the International Trade Fair in Gikondo to allow Kigali residents who missed the exercise to complete the process.

The government says the digital ID will make it easier for citizens to access public services while giving them greater control over their personal information. Unlike the current national ID, which contains multiple personal details, the digital system is expected to allow citizens to share only the information required for a particular service.