PREVIEW
Containing the fallout from the foreign interference law forced concessions that show the limits of the president's parliamentary dominance
Parliament passed the Protection of Sovereignty Bill on 5 May, but only after a public intervention by President Yoweri Museveni forced MPs to drop some of the most contentious clauses.
The main change at the amendment stage was to narrow the meaning of ‘foreigner’ and exclude Ugandan citizens living abroad. The definition of an ‘agent of a foreigner’ was refined to cover only those who formally and knowingly act on behalf of foreign interests to influence policy, elections or national security.
Wilson Kajwengye, the chairman of the parliament’s committee on Defence and Internal Affairs, told lawmakers on 5 May that the original drafting of the Bill was ‘overly broad and risked far-reaching consequences.’
In the debate before the final passing of the bill on 5 May, Minister of State for Internal Affairs, David Muhoozi said that Uganda faces challenges that threaten its ability to self-govern.
Among the critics of the bill’s reach were Uganda’s banks who had demanded an exemption from the bill’s initial requirements that all businesses and individuals that receive funds from outside the country be registered, arguing that the measure would hurt their ability to raise capital.
Central Bank Governor Michael Atingi-Ego had warned that this could significantly reduce financial inflows from the diaspora and risked an ‘economic disaster’. That measure has been modified so that only people receiving funds for political purposes will have to register.
Ministers argue that the draft law is intended to curb foreign interference in the country’s political process and economy. However, critics say that it will hurt opposition political parties and civil society groups, who get significant funding from outside donors, and is aimed at curbing the influence of Bobi Wine’s National Unity Platform (AC Vol 67 No 2, Seventh time lucky for Museveni & Dispatches 23/3/26, Bobi Wine takes to Capitol Hill to denounce election fraud).
The bill imposes a ban on anyone working for a foreign organisation from developing or implementing policy without the approval of President Museveni’s government.
It also criminalises the promotion of the ‘interests of a foreigner against the interests of Uganda’ will jail terms of up to ten years.
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