Uganda Parliament Approves Revised Sovereignty Bill After Key Amendments

Uganda’s Parliament passed the Protection of Sovereignty Bill, 2026 during a lively plenary session on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, led by Speaker Anita Among. The bill, initially sparking widespread debate due to its broad original terms, underwent major revisions to focus solely on agents acting for foreign interests in political and decision-making spheres.

State Minister for Internal Affairs David Muhoozi defended the legislation, highlighting threats to Uganda’s self-governance. The Defence and Internal Affairs Committee, chaired by Wilson Kajwengye, consulted over 200 stakeholders from various sectors before recommending changes. These included narrowing definitions to exclude Ugandan citizens abroad, refining ‘agent of a foreigner’ to require formal, intentional actions, and eliminating vague terms like broad ‘person’ definitions.

Lawmakers curtailed ministerial powers, shifting from arbitrary declarations to rule-based processes. Foreign funding now requires declaration rather than prior approval under Clause 22, protecting diaspora remittances, investments, trade, and humanitarian aid. Exemptions cover financial institutions, academia, health services, and regulated entities to prevent overlaps.

Penalties for offenses like economic sabotage—such as spreading false information to harm the economy—were capped at 10 years imprisonment or fines up to Shs2 billion for entities. Procedural safeguards, intent requirements, and timelines were added, while intrusive measures like unmandated inspections and health checks were dropped.

Opposition was vocal, with MPs like Jonathan Odur, Wilfred Niwagaba, Gilbert Olanya, Abdallah Kiwanuka, Medard Sseggona, and Leader of Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi filing dissenting views. They alleged bias, insufficient consultations, free speech violations, constitutional breaches, and excessive changes turning it into a new bill, citing a reported presidential letter disowning it. Speaker Among maintained the core objective remained intact.

Source: Parliament of Uganda