Gov’t softens Sovereignty Bill after public outcry
Concerns about the Bill’s intent had earlier been raised before the joint committee by government agencies, academia, civil society organisations and Ugandans living abroad, among others.
KAMPALA, April 30, 2026 — The Government has made sweeping amendments to the controversial Protection of Sovereignty Bill, 2026, ahead of a plenary sitting scheduled for Tuesday in the afternoon.
Among the changes is the removal of a proposal that would have classified Ugandan citizens living abroad as foreigners, as well as the narrowing of clauses critics said were broad enough to criminalise ordinary association with foreign entities.
The Attorney General, Kiryowa Kiwanuka, presented the proposed amendments on Thursday before the joint parliamentary committees on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and Defence and Internal Affairs, as lawmakers continued scrutiny of the Bill. He appeared alongside the Minister of State for Internal Affairs, David Muhoozi.
One of the most significant revisions concerns the definition of a “foreigner”. In the original draft, the Bill listed “a Ugandan citizen residing outside Uganda” among persons to be treated as foreigners. That clause has now been deleted.
Under the amended text, a foreigner is instead defined as “a person who engages, undertakes, supervises, controls, finances or subsidises the activities specified in section 2[2]” and includes “a non-Ugandan citizen”, foreign governments, diplomatic missions, corporations registered outside Uganda, and international or multinational organisations.
The change follows public criticism that the original wording risked branding Ugandans in the diaspora as outsiders despite their citizenship rights and significant contributions through remittances and investments.
Concerns about the Bill’s intent had earlier been raised before the joint committee by government agencies, academia, civil society organisations and Ugandans living abroad, among others.
Kiwanuka also substantially revised the definition of an “agent of a foreigner”, another clause that had drawn concern from civil society groups and legal commentators.
The original Bill broadly described an agent as any person acting as an agent, representative, employee or servant of a foreigner, or any person whose activities were supervised, directed, controlled, financed or subsidised by a foreigner. This wording has now been removed.
The revised clause states that an “agent of a foreigner” means “a person who engages in any of the activities referred to in section 2”.
The amendment marks a notable shift from penalising association or funding links to focusing on direct participation in activities prohibited under the law.
Another controversial provision removed from the Bill is a clause that listed “employing, recruiting, engaging, sponsoring or contracting any person to promote the interests of foreigners” as a disruptive activity.
Its removal is expected to ease fears that consultancy, advocacy, partnerships or employment linked to foreign-funded entities could be criminalised.
Kiwanuka also proposed curbing ministerial discretion under the Bill.
A provision that had allowed the minister to declare “any person, institution or body” a foreigner through a statutory instrument has been deleted.
The Attorney General further removed a clause that would have allowed the minister, in consultation with the ministers responsible for finance and foreign affairs, to exempt certain foreign funding to government institutions.
Other revised definitions include “foreign policy”, now defined as “a policy developed by a foreigner and not adopted by Government”, and “Government policy”, defined as “a statement, decision or action of Government on how a sector is regulated or governed, issued in accordance with the Constitution and laws of Uganda”.
During the committee sitting, several Members, including Betty Nambooze, the Mukono Municipality Member of Parliament [MP], said the Bill had been rushed, which they argued also explained the hurried amendments.
The Chairperson of the Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Stephen Baka Mugabi, questioned whether An MP who received financing from abroad for their election would be considered a foreign agent.
In response to Soroti District Woman MP Anne Adeke, who asked whether the amendments would make everyone liable to penalties under the Bill, Muhoozi said being Ugandan did not exempt anyone from criminal liability.
President Yoweri Museveni issued a four-page explanation of the intentions of the Bill, which he shared with the public on 30 April 2026.
The President wrote: “Of recent, I have noticed a lot of orwaari [noise, kelele] regarding the Sovereignty Bill. Which Sovereignty Bill is the orwaari about? The one I initiated in Cabinet or another one? The Bill will stop FDIs [foreign direct investments], support for religious bodies from abroad, remittances from Ugandans working abroad, etc. Really? That is not the Bill I initiated.”
Buy your copy of theCooperator magazine from one of our countrywide vending points or an e-copy on emag.thecooperator.news
