Kampala — Lawyers have analyzed the proposed Protection of Sovereignty Bill, 2026, warning it could fundamentally alter the constitutional order in the country, strip citizens of power, and isolate the country internationally.
They join the growing chorus of Ugandans from the civil society, the bankers' association, media experts, and those in the diplomatic circles about the Bill that was tabled in Parliament this month and is now at the committee stage.
The government wants to enact a law that seeks to provide for the protection of the sovereignty of the people of Uganda; to designate the department responsible for peace and security as the responsible entity for the registration and regulation of agents of foreigners; to provide for the protection of the sovereignty of Uganda; to provide for the registration of agents of foreigners; to regulate the funding and any other assistance to agents of foreigners and for related matter.
However, many have stated that away from the patriotic language laced in and around it is what they describe as threats to the sovereignty of the Ugandans citizen. Lawyers have asserted that if passed in the current form, the proposed law could redefine citizenship and fundamentally shift who holds power in Uganda, as currently stated in Article One of the 1995 constitution.
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The 1995 Constitution, as amended, states that "All power belongs to the people who shall exercise their sovereignty in accordance with this Constitution." The constitution further States that "Without limiting the effect of clause (1) of this article, all authority in the State emanates from the people of Uganda; and the people shall be governed through their will and consent."
Speaking at a virtual Press conference hosted by the Uganda Law Society on Saturday morning, Godbar Tumushabe, an Associate Director at the Great Lakes Institute for Strategic Studies, described the Bill as "the last nail in the process of overthrowing the constitution.
He asserted that the proposed law is part of the process by the current regime to literally dismantle the 1995 constitution that has been amended several times.
"We literally no longer have the 1995 Constitution," Tumushabe said. "This bill is a furtherance of that evisceration... it appropriates the sovereignty of citizens and transfers it to the executive." Said Tumushabe, also a lecturer at the Law School of Makerere University.
"So, the protection of sovereignty bill, in my view, is a furtherance of that evisceration of the Constitution because if you look at the amendments, the extensive nature of these amendments, you can literally say that the 1995 Constitution has literally been overthrown."
Tumushabe, a known critic of the Museveni administration, argued that it hasn't happened anywhere in this world that you can have a constitution developed and adopted by a people and then the executive and the legislature perspire to amend it to the level that it has been amended so far.
"So, in this process of really overthrowing the Constitution, as I call it, I think that the second last nail was the enactment of the UPDF Amendment Act because the UPDF Amendment Act essentially shifts legislative authority, substantive judicial authority from the judiciary to the military," he said.
He warned that the Bill touches on a sensitive matter related to citizenship, stating that Ugandans in diaspora could suddenly be regarded as foreigners.
"Now, if you are a Ugandan resident abroad, you are a citizen. With this Bill, you are a foreigner," said Tumushabe.
He asserted that the Bill is yet another attempt to rewrite the constitution. He described the title of the Bill as deceptive.
"Let me put it this way, that the bill is titled in a very mischievous manner, Protection of Sovereignty Bill. I really want to convince you, as colleagues in the legal profession, that the protection of sovereignty is actually achieved through multiplicity of actions and legislation."
According to him, the Bill's impact would cut across the economy, from banks and law firms to NGOs, small businesses, and families dependent on remittances.
"With a stroke of a pen, you can disrupt a $2.5 billion diaspora economy. This law touches almost every citizen," he warned.
Tumushabe agrees that every state or government has a legitimate right and responsibility to control the activities of foreigners, but to call it a protection of sovereignty bill is a misnomer.
He suggests that the government can draft "If the government listened, it would drop this bill and instead bring targeted laws on foreign agents or financial regulation. This is a killer legislation," he said.
In the past, lawyers and civil society actors have waited for such controversial laws to be assented then challenge them in court. But Tumushabe cautions that relying on the judiciary may not be enough.
"Waiting to challenge these laws after they are passed is no longer sufficient. Legal processes can take years, during which time the law remains in effect," he explained.
"By the time a court decision comes, the law may already have caused significant damage," he added.
Speaking from exile, the Uganda Law Society President, Isaac Ssemakadde, described the Bill as anti-citizen and anti-sovereignty.
"We've identified that the bill doesn't even attempt to define sovereignty. So, how would a policeman determine what is a violation? But sovereignty is freedom, sovereignty is liberty, sovereignty is the citizen, the citizen is the sovereign."
He concurred with Tumushabe about the assertion that the government, through the Bill, has launched what he described as a scorched earth attack on the citizens, warning that the Bill signals a broader shift toward repression.
"This is not a law. It is an announcement of departure. Uganda is departing from the democratic world and creating a militarised state. The bill criminalises criticism of the government. It turns normal democratic activity into economic sabotage," he said.
Ssemakadde revealed that they are building persuasions and arguments to persuade major donors and investors in Uganda to withdraw their money.
"We are going to be very clear starting next week that you have to withdraw your money. Think about withdrawing your money from Uganda. Write to the president of the Republic of Uganda and tell him that if this bill passes, I will withdraw my money," he revealed.
He suggested that the bill could affect investor confidence and Uganda's relationships with global partners.
"If this bill passes, investors may have to reconsider their position," he said.
Foreign investors often look for stable legal environments before committing resources. Laws perceived as unpredictable or restrictive can raise concerns about risk.
The lawyers, Uganda Bankers' Association, and some members of the civil society have argued that the Bill, as it is, potentially affects businesses that depend on foreign investment or partnerships, banks, most of which have international ownership, NGOs that are externally funded, media houses, universities, research institutions, and Ugandans who depend on remittances from abroad.
"This is not a narrow law. It touches almost every aspect of economic and social life. For example, NGOs working in health or education could face stricter," Tumushabe said.
"While much of the debate is happening in legal and policy circles, the real impact would be felt at the ground level.
Beyond the wording in the Bill and political framing, Michael Aboneka, a human rights, governance, and constitutional lawyer, has raised technical concerns about how the proposed law will work in practice.
"One of the biggest problems with this bill is that it creates obligations and offences that are not clearly defined," Aboneka said in a separate legal analysis.
He observed that in legal terms, clarity is essential and that laws must be specific enough for citizens to understand what is allowed and what is prohibited.
"If a law is vague, it opens the door to selective enforcement," he explained. "Different authorities can interpret it differently, and that creates risk for everyone."
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For example, if "foreign influence" or "sovereignty threats" are not precisely defined, ordinary activities, such as receiving funding, collaborating internationally, or even expressing certain views, could fall into grey areas," he argues.
"People and organisations may find themselves in violation of the law without clear intent," Aboneka said.
Aboneka also highlights the compliance burden the law could introduce. "When reporting requirements are broad and thresholds unclear, organisations may spend more time trying to avoid penalties than doing their core work," he said.
For NGOs, businesses, and even professional firms, this could mean increased costs, administrative pressure, and uncertainty.
"In the long run, that affects service delivery, investment decisions, and public trust," warned Aboneka.
Corporate Lawyer, Phillip Karugaba, in a paper titled "Uganda's Protection of Sovereignty Bill 2026: What it means for business, investors and lenders," suggests that the Bill can be redrafted to address the legitimate concerns.
He says Bill's impact on the private sector flows primarily from two extraordinarily broad definitions. An "agent of a foreigner" includes any person whose activities are "directly or indirectly supervised, directed, controlled, financed, or subsidised" by a foreigner.
Karugaba argues that a foreigner" includes not only non-citizens and foreign governments but also Ugandan citizens residing abroad, international organisations, and, critically, any person the Minister for Internal Affairs may designate as a foreigner by statutory instrument.
"A Ugandan company with a foreign minority shareholder, a business operating under a foreign loan facility, a joint venture with an international partner, or an enterprise receiving supply-chain finance from a foreign bank or a law firm that is part of an international network, could all be classified as agents of foreigners," said Karugaba.
