Ssegona akubye 'Sovereignty Bill', asonze ku biraga nti ekontana be ssemateeka w'eggwanga

Added: 2026-05-06

[00:00:00]Although the bill seeks to safeguard the sovereignty of Uganda from external influence, it grants agents of foreigners, once registered, the right to interfere with sovereignty. For instance, an agent of a foreigner who registers with the minister can implement government policy or government services under clause six.

[00:00:21]Strangely, can influence development of policy under clause seven.

[00:00:27]Can implement government policy under clause eight.

[00:00:30]Can interfere with the electoral process under clause 11 simply because of registration.

[00:00:38]All the activities that are allowed for an agent of a foreigner under the bill will have will affront article one of the constitution whichever way you look at it, even when the minister allows.

[00:00:50]It is an affront and the bill assumes that what is offensive to the constitution becomes lawful simply by allowing it under an act of parliament in so far as the will infringe the sovereignty of the citizens of Uganda by subjecting it to the influence of foreigners. The so-called acts allowed under under under the allowed under the proposed law will still be offensive by their nature being an affront to sovereignty. The minority note therefore that the bill had the bill been conceptualized properly. Indeed, by being overly vague and ambiguous in relation to its application and the activities it seeks to regulate, it may be declared void for vagueness and the stretching beyond the parameters of the constitution. At page nine, the bill infringes several articles. My colleagues have mentioned quite a number, specifically article one. I also find that it offends article 259 to the extent that it seeks to amend the constitution by infection.

[00:02:00]This was canvassed in Paul Ssemogerere Kaggalu Lum and Juliet Rainer Kafire versus Attorney General Constitutional Appeal number one of 2002 in which the Supreme Court declared section five of the Constitutional Amendment Act 2000 as unconstitutional since it had the effect of amending article 28, article 41 one and article 44 C.

[00:02:23]Right honorable speaker, in that case it was declared unconstitutional for having been passed without following the procedure under chapter eight of our constitution.

[00:02:34]Court also discussed the effect of section five of the Constitutional Amendment Act which proposed to introduce new clauses two and three of article 97 with the intention of restricting citizens unhampered access of to information and the process in the possession of the state. You may read for yourselves and I'll proceed to page 12.

[00:03:00]The bill infringes on the following articles of the constitution making it grossly unconstitutional in form and effect. Number one, unconstitutional deprivation of citizenship. Right honorable speaker, citizenship is not granted by statute.

[00:03:20]By seeking the to reintroduce the foreign element against Ugandans, the bill offends articles nine, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 of the constitution.

[00:03:37]Freedom of expression under attack.

[00:03:40]Article 29 1 A and B which provide that every person shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression, freedom of thought, conscience and belief. Now, clauses five, seven, eight, nine, seven, eight, 10, 12 and 13 and the definitions of disruptive activities in clause one directly criminalize expression and association and and association including influencing the public to oppose the policy of government.

[00:04:14]Clause two two G, engaging or participating in a riot or unlawful demonstration or assembly, the definition of disruptive activities is offensive and publishing information said to weaken the economic system.

[00:04:31]Clause 13. These restrictions are neither demonstrably justifiable in a free and democratic society as provided for under article 43 2 C which provides that public interest shall not permit any limitation of the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms prescribed under the constitution beyond what is acceptable and demonstrably justifiable in a free and democratic society.

[00:04:56]Three, freedom of association and assembly threatened.

[00:05:01]Right honorable speaker and colleagues, article 38 two of the constitution guarantees every citizen's right to participate in peaceful activities to influence the policies through civic organization. Now, listen to this.

[00:05:17]Clause seven three, clause eight three, clause eight four and 12 substantially burden and in places in some places extinguish that right by criminalizing conduct that constitutes its core exercise.

[00:05:33]Uh four, right of equality invaded.

[00:05:37]Under article 21 one, all persons are equal. Now, when it comes to the definition of foreigner, a Ugandan citizen residing outside that has been sorted and I will I I and I I accede to that. Then the foreigners in their own country and converts persons into those and those who deal with them.

[00:06:01]Intrusion of privacy where the minister uh the right to privacy of a person and property and no person is subjected to unlawful search or unlawful entry into the premises. Clause 28 confers the person appointed by the minister to uh to inspect the premises on an agent of a foreigner. Void for vagueness. I think the honorable Betty Nambooze has hinted on it on the wide and arbitrary provision.

[00:06:36]Authorities to look at our Andrew Karamagi versus Attorney General Constitutional Petition number five of 2016 which struck down section 25 of the Computer Misuse Act, Charles Onyango Oboth and another versus Attorney General Constitutional Appeal number two. The bill departs from the legally the legal legality principle under article 28.

[00:07:00]Interests of Uganda, I think honorable Nambooze has hinted on it. They are not defined. Agent of a foreigner, clause one. The definition is extraordinarily broad and captures any person who acts at the order, requests, under the direction and control.

[00:07:20]I have specifically highlighted the threats that I consider legitimate in those bullet points at page 14.

[00:07:30]Now, the foreigner clause I think has also been canvassed together with disruptive activities and economic sabotage.

[00:07:40]At page 16, right honorable speaker, I have highlighted the threat against the freedom from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and the attendant authorities.

[00:07:56]The bill is accompanied with a defective certificate that has been canvassed by the honorable Odur Jonathan and I want to associate with him but point out of be specific on the following areas. One, that the estimates of revenue and expenditure over the period of not less than two years after the coming into effect of the bill when passed, the impact of the bill on the economy are not canvassed in the certificate. The certificate simply laid down the principle of what we may achieve in broad in broad terms without telling us what we are likely to spend on implementing and whether government is prepared to spend that money. To that extent, the certificate is incurably defective and cannot support this bill.

[00:08:54]The bill has also the potential to destabilize Uganda's balance of payments. I think reference has been made to the submissions of the Governor Bank of Uganda and I associate in the same terms.

[00:09:07]Um the financial sector and the risking the operational paralysis, the capital requirements and funding gap, the policy framework inconsistency and the voluntary shocks have all been canvassed and then the second last is the amendments proposed by the committee.

[00:09:29]Good as they sound, are equally excessive and disregard the precedents of the house. They also disregard the procedure that ought to have been adopted as elaborated by my colleagues earlier.

[00:09:44]Finally, right honorable speaker, for my reasons, this is where I'm going to refer to the letter written by my brother the president.

[00:09:58]And here nobody will ask me whether he wrote it or not because having said he's my brother, I think I know him better than anyone.

[00:10:08]The bill was rejected by the president and majority of the stakeholders and the committee that the committee engaged with.

[00:10:16]Right, honorable speaker.

[00:10:18]The statistics have been given.

[00:10:22]Of all the persons that appeared, I think only three people supported.

[00:10:28]Three stakeholders.

[00:10:29]The honorable Yusuf Nsibambi, the honorable Chiriwanchuwanu Katunijanu. I treat him as a stakeholder because he was not the mover.

[00:10:40]And the gentleman from Fort Portal, Mr. Asiimwe that has been referred to.

[00:10:46]The president himself did state that this is not the bill that he initiated in cabinet.

[00:10:54]But it does not stop there.

[00:10:57]Even General Sevelino Kahinda Otafiire, who was stated to be the mover of the bill, evaded the committee proceedings, yet he's the one who must have received the president's instructions.

[00:11:08]Only the mis- only to be misconstrued, with immense respect, by my my son, General David Muhoozi, who appeared, and not the minister. Honorable David Muhoozi is a son-in-law because he married from him.

[00:11:27]Uh So, yes, he's my son. In Africa, we don't do we don't say that. He's my son.

[00:11:34]So, right, honorable speaker.

[00:11:37]Right, the general conclusion is that the minority, and that is me now, wish to remind colleagues that Uganda is here to stay.

[00:11:47]And therefore, there is no need for fire fighting.

[00:11:51]The country must not be stampeded into criminalizing politics because politics seems to be left as the only target in the name and behind the curtain of sovereignty and security.

[00:12:05]The existing laws were not enacted in vain.

[00:12:08]They must be allowed to serve their purpose.

[00:12:11]The bill as proposed is inimical to democratic tenets, constitutional commands, and injurious to good conscience, which principles we must must be jealously guarded and protected with that most tenacity by all Ugandans of goodwill.

[00:12:26]Minority therefore recommend as follows.

[00:12:29]One, the Protection of Sovereignty Bill 2026 that was read for the first time and referred to the joint committee on Wednesday, 15th April, 2026, be rejected in its entirety for the reasons stated above.

[00:12:44]That the government undertakes to take practical steps to protect the sovereignty of the people from direct and indirect attacks, including by those claiming to fight for us.

[00:12:56]Muwada Lubega Segona, MP, Busiro East. I thank you.

[00:13:00]>> thank you, honorable member that for that report that my that my