The Government has made sweeping amendments to the controversial Protection of Sovereignty Bill, 2026, ahead of a plenary sitting scheduled for Tuesday, 04 May 2026 at 2:00p.m.

Among the amendments is the ditching of the proposal that would have classified Ugandan citizens living abroad as foreigners and narrowing clauses critics said were broad enough to criminalise ordinary association with foreign entities.

The Attorney General, Hon. Kiryowa Kiwanuka, presented the proposed changes on Thursday, 30 April 2026 before the joint parliamentary committees of 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, Hon. 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 retaining citizenship rights and contributing heavily to the country through remittances and investments.

Concern about the Bill’s intents had been raised before the joint committee by government agencies, the academia, civil society players and Ugandans living in the diaspora, 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 struck out.

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 punishing association or funding links to focusing on direct participation in activities prohibited under the law.

Another controversial provision deleted 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 statutory instrument has also been deleted.

The Attorney General further removed a clause that would have allowed the minister, in consultation with 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 has not been adopted by Government,” and “Government policy,” defined as “a statement, decision or actions 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 Hon. Betty Nambooze (NUP, Mukono Municipality), agreed that the Bill was rushed and was the reason for the amendments, which also they said were being rushed.

The Chairperson of the Committee of legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Hon. Stephen Baka Mugabi questioned if an MP who received financing from abroad for their elections would be considered a foreign agent.

Minister Muhoozi, in response to the Soroti District Woman MP, Hon. Anne Adeke, on whether the amendments now make everyone liable to the penalties in the Bill, said being a Ugandan did not exempt anyone from criminal liability.

President Yoweri Museveni penned a four-page explanation on the intentions of the Bill and 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 rwaari 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, etc. Really!! That is not the Bill I initiated.”