Attorney General Tables Key Amendments to Protection of Sovereignty Bill, Exempts Banks, Schools, Hospitals, and Churches
KAMPALA – April 30, 2026
Following intense public backlash, Attorney General Kiwanuka Kiryowa has tabled new amendments to the controversial Protection of Sovereignty Bill, 2026, exempting key sectors including financial institutions, medical and educational facilities, and religious bodies from its provisions.
Appearing before Parliament’s Joint Committee of Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and the Defence and Internal Affairs Committee on Thursday, Kiryowa stated that the redraft was a direct response to concerns raised by Ugandans during stakeholder engagements.
“We have listened to the public,” Kiryowa told the committee. Under the amended bill, any financial institution supervised by the Central Bank, along with medical, education, and religious institutions, will no longer be subject to the bill’s provisions.
The Attorney General was joined by the Minister of State for Internal Affairs, Gen. David Muhoozi, as both returned to the joint committee to revise the bill following outcry over earlier drafts—including a proposal that could have designated Ugandans living abroad as foreign agents.
One of the most significant changes comes in the bill’s redefinition of a “foreigner.” The amended text now defines a foreigner 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 revised language appears to remove the blanket designation of Ugandan citizens abroad as foreign agents, narrowing the definition to non-citizens and external entities engaged in specific activities.
The joint committee is expected to continue reviewing the amendments as the 11th Parliament enters its final sitting period.
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