The Radical New Bar draws a Line: Inside the ULS Sovereignty Defence Fund

Dear Friends and Partners,

Parliament has passed the Protection of Sovereignty Bill, 2026. Presidential assent is now a matter of days. The Uganda Law Society — the Bar of this Republic — cannot watch this happen in silence.

We are writing because Article 1 of our Constitution puts the matter beyond doubt: all power belongs to the people of Uganda. And yet a Bill bearing the name sovereignty now threatens the very people in whom that sovereignty rests — journalists, civil society, the diaspora, ordinary citizens, lawyers, churches, universities, and the businesses that employ them.

That is why we have launched the Sovereignty Defence Fund — UGX 2.301 billion (roughly $630,000)— to mount a measured, professional, lawful defence of the Constitution while we still can.

Let us speak plainly about what makes this Bill so alarming

It is not the regulation of foreign influence in the abstract. Every functioning democracy has rules around lobbying and transparency. The problem is that this Bill goes far beyond that — and the criminal penalties it carries are not calibrated to any genuine harm. They are crushing, and they fall on conduct so loosely defined that almost any cross-border partnership, grant, story or remittance can be drawn in.

By the standard our own Constitution sets in Article 43(2)(c) — that any limitation on a fundamental right must be “acceptable and demonstrably justifiable in a free and democratic society” — these penalties are plainly disproportionate. They are designed not to deter narrow wrongs, but to chill broad freedoms.

In practical terms, this means:

• A journalist who files a story for an international wire — or who simply takes a call from a foreign editor — could face years in prison.

• An NGO running a rural health clinic on a donor grant could be shut down overnight, its director prosecuted.

• A son in London sending school fees to his sister in Mbale could be pulled into a “foreign agent” investigation.

• A Ugandan advocate retained by a foreign client could be forced to choose between professional duty and prosecution.

• A pastor in Arua, a teacher in Gulu, a youth-group convener in Mukono — anyone in entirely lawful international association — could find their conduct reframed as a crime against the State.

We have seen laws of this design in other parts of the world. They begin narrow. They never stay narrow.

The economic stakes are just as serious.

The USD 2.5 billion in annual diaspora remittances that keep Ugandan families housed, fed and educated; the donor programmes that hold up our health and education systems; the foreign investment that has built our energy, telecommunications and financial services sectors — all of it depends on legal predictability. A Bill of this breadth will not produce predictability. It will produce capital flight, suspended programmes, and protracted strategic litigation.

The cost of doing nothing will far exceed UGX 2.301 billion — many times over.

A clear, disciplined, four-front defence

FRONT	ALLOCATION	PURPOSE
Public Education	UGX 266M ($72,829)	Cutting through the slogans with radio, television, print and national dialogues so every Ugandan understands what this law actually does.
Coalitions & Diaspora Coordination	UGX 550M ($150,587)	Uniting legal, civic and economic voices inside Uganda and across the world to align before and after assent.
High-Level Advocacy	UGX 78M ($21,356)	Evidence-based engagement with the Presidency, Parliament, the EAC, the African Commission and diplomatic missions, while there is still time to seek amendment, delay or review.
Litigation & Victim Support	UGX 1.220B ($334,029)	Strategic constitutional petitions, regional and international filings, and — at the heart of this work — a UGX 400M Legal Aid Fund (roughly $109,518) to defend, on a moment’s notice, the first journalists, CSO leaders, editors and families prosecuted under the Act.

This is not charity. This is partnership.

Whether you are a media freedom organisation, a development finance institution, an investor, a diplomat, a member of the diaspora, a fellow lawyer, or a private sector leader — your support right now can make the difference between a constitutional course-correction and a generation of avoidable harm.

How you can help — immediately

Account Name: Uganda Law SocietyBank: Standard Chartered Bank Uganda LimitedAccount Number: 0102010622409

SWIFT Code: SCBLUGKAXXXBranch: Kampala Main BranchReference: SDF-[Your Name / Organisation]

To pay using MTN Mobile Money, you may use our SchoolPay Account by dialing 16580#,

• Then Select (1) SchoolPay

• Then Select (1) Pay School Fees

• On Student Number, Enter our Uganda Law Society – SchoolPay Account Number 1011780026

• You should have seen that the beneficiary is Uganda Law Society, Proceed and enter the donated amount

• Finally enter your MTN Mobile Money Pin to confirm your payment

To pay using Airtel Money, you may use our SchoolPay Account by dialing 1856*2# ,

• Then Select (1) Pay School Fees

• On Student Number, Enter our Uganda Law Society – SchoolPay Account Number 1011780026

• You should have seen that the beneficiary is Uganda Law Society, Proceed and enter the donated amount

• Finally enter your Airtel Money Pin to confirm your payment

For inquiries about the ULS Sovereignty Defence Fund, please contact us via Email: uls@uls.or.ug or visit https://uls.or.ug/defencefundThe Fund will be subject to independent audit and regular public reporting. Every shilling will be accounted for.

The window is closing fast.

If you believe in fair justice, a free press, and a predictable environment for business, civil society and family life, please stand with the Uganda Law Society today. Issued at ULS House Kampala this 14th day of May 2026

For God and My Country

Isaac K. Ssemakadde, S.C.

President, Uganda Law Society