Overview:
The session, chaired by Speaker Anita Among, was marked by repeated procedural disputes, crowded seating arrangements, and heated exchanges as the House processed the controversial legislation amid visible divisions between the ruling party and opposition legislators.
Parliament, dominated by the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), on Tuesday passed the Protection of Sovereignty Bill, 2026, after a tense and highly charged sitting in which opposition MPs accused the leadership of stifling debate and limiting their ability to present dissenting views.
The session, chaired by Speaker Anita Among, was marked by repeated procedural disputes, crowded seating arrangements, and heated exchanges as the House processed the controversial legislation amid visible divisions between the ruling party and opposition legislators.
Opposition MPs, led by Nakawa West legislator Joel Ssenyonyi, attempted to halt consideration of the Bill, arguing that it was procedurally flawed and different from an earlier version previously circulated in Parliament. Ssenyonyi also questioned the use of what he termed a “leaked committee report” to advance the Bill, drawing parallels with past decisions where Parliament blocked reports under similar circumstances.
However, Speaker Among dismissed the objections, insisting that the report had been properly authenticated.
“This report that was uploaded had my signature. I even said ‘please place it on the order paper with my very able signature’,” Ms Among said.
She contrasted it with a previous Uganda Airlines report, which she said lacked authentication. “The report of Airlines that got out did not have my signature. I am the only one who can sanction documents to be uploaded,” she added.
Her ruling cleared the way for Wilson Kajwengye, co-chairperson of the joint committees on Defence and Internal Affairs and Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, to present the majority report endorsing the Bill. His presentation proceeded without interruption.
Opposition protests time allocation
Tensions escalated when Speaker Among directed that six minority reports be presented within 35 minutes, the same time allocated to the majority report. The decision sparked immediate protest from opposition MPs, who described it as unfair and restrictive.
Shadow Constitutional Affairs Minister Jonathan Odur rejected the directive, arguing that dissenting opinions required equal consideration.
“When a member of the committee dissents singularly, the weight of the report demands that we will be accorded the same time,” Odur said, but his objection was overruled.
Odur also criticised the committee process, alleging that co-chairpersons exhibited “gross incompetence” and suppressed divergent views during deliberations.
The remarks drew a sharp response from Speaker Among, who cautioned him against using what she described as inappropriate language.
“By the time you come and be a Member of Parliament in this House, then you are competent. Let’s tone down our language,” she said, directing the Hansard team to expunge some of his remarks from the record.
Minority reports constrained
Odur’s presentation was later cut short after he was instructed to condense more than 20 pages of findings into a five-minute submission, a directive he strongly objected to.
“In the joint committee, I was not given the opportunity. For that, let me put it on record that the five minutes you have given to me is not enough for me to finish,” he said.
Similar time constraints were imposed on other opposition MPs presenting minority reports, including Shadow Attorney General Wilfred Niwagaba, who appeared alongside MPs Ann Adeke Ebaju and Asuman Basalirwa.
“I believe you will give me my right as a member who prepared a report which was co-signed by two other members,” Niwagaba pleaded, though he was also limited to five minutes.
Other minority reports were presented by MPs Gilbert Olanya (Kilak South), Abdallah Kiwanuka (Mukono North), Medard Sseggona (Busiro East), and Betty Nambooze (Mukono Municipality), who also serves as Shadow Internal Affairs Minister.
Nambooze criticised the handling of the Bill, warning against what she described as a culture of silencing dissent.
“My request is that the 11th Parliament stops behaving as if it is the last Parliament Uganda will ever have. There will be other Parliaments that will come after this Parliament,” she said.
She also raised concerns about the committee process, claiming that the number of memoranda considered had been misrepresented.
“You have been told that 57 memoranda were reviewed but the fact of the matter is that the committee received over 700 memoranda, one of them being from the Buganda Kingdom,” she said.
Claims of disruption and noise
During the debate, opposition MPs also complained of interruptions and an unfavourable speaking environment, alleging that noise and laughter from the ruling side made it difficult to present their arguments.
State Minister for Transport Joy Kabatsi Opendi intervened at one point, urging order in the House.
“There is a lot of noise and yet the microphones that they are using are not as loud as the majority side used… it is okay to laugh but let’s laugh and allow the member to read her report. We now can’t hear what she is reading,” she said.
Bill passed amid divisions
Despite the protests, Parliament proceeded to pass the Protection of Sovereignty Bill, 2026, with the ruling NRM majority prevailing.
The legislation now moves to the next stage of the legislative process amid continuing criticism from opposition MPs, who argue that the proceedings reflected a shrinking space for dissent within the House.
The government, however, maintains that the Bill is necessary to safeguard national interests and strengthen Uganda’s sovereignty framework.