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The Ugandan parliament has passed a law curbing foreign influence by imposing penalties on “agents of a foreigner” who develop or implement policy without the government’s approval.
The Bill, which had attracted intense public interest due to its controversial clauses in its original form, was considered during a plenary sitting chaired by the Speaker, Anita Among.
The proposal, titled “The Protection of Sovereignty Bill’’, was adopted on Tuesday and now awaits the signature of President Yoweri Museveni.
The law, which imposes penalties of up to 10 years in prison for violations of its terms, bans anyone working on behalf of foreign interests from developing or implementing policy without government approval, was kicked against by rights groups who argued that such broad language would allow the government to criminalise any form of political opposition.
It was, however, amended following consultations involving over 200 stakeholders across government institutions, civil society, the private sector, academia and the diaspora, according to the Chairperson of the Committee on Defence and Internal Affairs, Wilson Kajwengye.
Kajwengye said the amendments are intended to harmonise the definitions with the scope of the bill, limiting the application of the law to agents of foreigners and not to any other person, as stated in earlier provisions.
The parliament also redefined “agent of a foreigner” to cover only those who formally and knowingly act on behalf of foreign interests to influence policy, elections or national security. The amendments exclude Ugandan citizens residing outside Uganda from the application of the bill.
Ugandan lawmakers also scaled back the minister’s powers, removing provisions that allowed the minister to declare any person a foreigner and replacing broad discretionary authority with more structured, rules-based mechanisms.
Per the legislation, “agents of foreigners” are now required to declare funds rather than seek prior approval.
