Sovereignty Bill: Why Speaker Among rejected LOP Ssenyonyi leaking allegations

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Speaker Anita Annet Among on Tuesday, overruled a procedural objection that Leader of Opposition (LOP) Joel Ssenyonyi had raised relating to a majority report of the joint Defence and Legal Committees scrutinising the controversial Protection of Sovereignty Bill, 2026.

Speaking on the floor of the House on May 5, 2026, Ssenyonyi argued that the report they were preparing to debate upon had leaked. And yet parliamentary rules require utmost secrecy before a Bill is formally tabled.

Citing a similar incident during his tenure as chairperson of the House committee on commissions, statutory authorities and state enterprises (COSASE), where a report into the operations of Uganda Airlines was shelved on similar grounds.

“The committee report to this Bill here leaked, and it is in the public domain. It was first shared on our Parliament platforms; media houses have shared it. It is all over, Honourable chair, on January 18, 2023, you were seated in the chair you are seated, and I was standing on this very microphone, I was chairperson of COSASE. I rose to present a committee report for COSASE on Uganda Airlines, and you said, I want to quote you verbatim what was on Hansard,” Ssenyonyi said.

Leader of Opposition (LOP) Joel Ssenyonyi during plenary on Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (Credit: Miriam Namutebi)

“You said there was a leakage of the Uganda Airlines report. A property of this parliament cannot leak, and we continue debating on it,” he said, contending should apply to the report in question.

Out of order

However, in response, Among ruled the LOP out of order, saying documents Ssenyonyi was talking about were not "genuine" since her signature was missing.

“This report, which was uploaded, had my signature. I even said please place it on the order paper with my very able signature. The report of airlines that got out did not have my signature. I am the only one who can sanction a document to be uploaded, which I did, so the report was not leaked out,” she ruled.

Repurposed version

While the original Bill, which was tabled for first reading on April 15, 2026, attracted public backlash, the two committees, at the discretion of President Yoweri Museveni, modified key clauses.

Key among these include keywords such as “agent of a foreigner." Which in the original Bill applied to persons acting as an agent, representative, employee, servant or persons who, in any capacity, act at the order, request or under the direction or control of a foreigner. The provision also applied to persons whose activities were directly or indirectly supervised, directed, controlled, financed or subsidised by a foreigner.

However, in the revised version passed by the House, the definition was narrowed to mean an agent, representative, or employee of a foreigner who, on the order, request, supervision, direction, or control of a foreigner or while being financed or subsidised by a foreigner, engages in acts prejudicial to Uganda’s national security or influencing political outcomes.

Such as engaging in political activities for purposes of furthering interests of foreigners. The bill defines political activities as any activity aimed at influencing the enactment of legislation, the formulation of policy or the decision-making of the Government or the people of Uganda.

With activities classified under this, including mobilising funds, supporting and campaigning for a candidate or political party in an election. Or trying to shortchange the outcome of an election or imposition of ideologies that are inconsistent with the customs of communities listed in the third schedule of the 1995 Constitution.

On the other hand, the interests of foreigners are described as actions that run contrary to Government Policy.

However, it excludes monies meant for institutions that are regulated by Acts of Parliament, medical facilities, academic research, domestic purposes, faith-based organisations, diaspora remittances, foreign aid, grants, portfolio investment, export proceeds, trade finance and any other lawful foreign exchange inflow among others.

Also, the classification of foreigners has been modified. Whereas the original draft included Ugandans living abroad, the latest version limits the term to non-Ugandan individuals, foreign governments, diplomatic missions, companies and non-governmental organisations incorporated or registered outside Uganda who engage or finance political activities aimed at advancing foreign interests.

Penalties

Relatedly, penalties for transgressions listed above had been shillings two billion, or 20-years imprisonment or both for individuals and shillings four billion for legal entities. But this has been altered to shillings one billion or 10 years or both and shillings two billion respectively.