Kampala — The eyes and ears of Ugandans are fixed on Parliament ahead of tomorrow’s crucial sitting, where legislators will resume debate on the Sovereignty Bill. Tomorrow marks the final day for all members of parliament to deliberate on the proposed law.
The parliamentary legal committee will present a report summarizing all public views collected from Ugandans who submitted their opinions on the bill. If MPs vote in favour of advancing the bill, it would set the stage for a third-day session to pass it into full law.
However, the proposed legislation has been widely condemned as harmful to Uganda and its citizens. An estimated 95% of Ugandans have petitioned Parliament to reject the bill.
Last-minute appeals from elders and youth
As parliament prepares to sit, veteran Ugandans including elder statesmen Sako, forward-looking youth leaders, Basinzidde Ntinda, and others have issued a final warning to the 11th Parliament: passing the bill into law would bring no celebration. Meanwhile, Imam Ibrahim Kasozi has declared that the bill contains no single beneficial clause.
According to these citizens, President Museveni has already reviewed the bill and distanced himself from the corruption and loopholes embedded in it. They claim the President was surprised that some MPs have allegedly inserted harmful provisions into the legislation he originally left as a "door" — a guiding framework.
The group now appeals to the President to help the nation by clearly stating the principles he wanted included in the bill, reminding Parliament that those principles should be the foundation for enacting any law.
Creative industry warns of dire consequences
Geoffrey Ekongot, head of the Uganda Musicians Association and advocate for the creative industry, explained from his base that if the bill passes in its current form, artists will face difficult days ahead.
He noted that musicians are still celebrating the Copyright Act that the President assented to, which benefited them greatly. He expressed shock that the government would now seek to undermine those gains through the new Sovereignty Protection Bill.
All eyes are now on tomorrow’s parliamentary session. There is a possibility that the Attorney General, Kiryowa Kiwanuka, may rise to either withdraw the bill or allow it to be debated in the national interest.
