By Eastafricaobserver | Kampala | Sunday, May 3, 2026
The National Peasants’ Party has accused President Yoweri Museveni of “dishonesty” after he disowned the Sovereignty Bill on April 30, with Secretary General Sharif Sentongo Nambale saying Museveni “was the initiator of the bill targeting opposition.”
“The President is being dishonest. He initiated this Bill in Cabinet. Now that there is rwaari, he says ‘that is not the Bill I initiated.’ We know his record,” Sentongo said Saturday in Kampala. “He has long targeted the opposition because he doesn’t want the opposition to organize.”
Sentongo cited “incidences where the president has turned around after initiating unfair legislation,” saying the Sovereignty Bill fits a “familiar pattern of political maneuvering in which pressure, not principle, dictates retreat.”
He pointed to the Political Parties and Organisations Amendment Act which “only recognizes for funding purposes only the parties in parliament as unfair.”
“Why does the President, who has deliberately refused to fund the opposition parties, continue to stop them from accessing financial support whether local or international?” Sentongo asked.
HISTORY OF U-TURNS CITED
Sentongo argued Museveni has repeatedly disowned or reversed Cabinet-backed legislation after public backlash:
Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2023: Introduced by government March 9, 2023. Museveni refused to sign it April 20, 2023, sending it back over “rehabilitation” after international criticism.
Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2016: Cabinet-originated to tax MPs’ allowances and cap oil deductions. Museveni rejected it three times, opposing taxing oil exploration costs.
Public Service Allowances, 2018: Cabinet approved higher rates in June 2018. August 30, 2018, Museveni ordered reversal: “Why did Cabinet approve the new allowances when the budget was already passed?”
Kiswahili Bill, 2023: Cabinet first assigned it to Gender Ministry, then “reconsidered its earlier position” leading to withdrawal October 22, 2024.
“What began as a bold legislative push has now transformed into a heated political spectacle… proposals, and public perception intersect,” Sentongo said, echoing analysts who call it a “calculated political reversal.”
NPP VOWS TO FIGHT “ANTI-PEOPLE” BILLS
Sentongo said the National Peasants’ Party “promises to continue fighting such anti-people and unfair bills because they are not to the will of Ugandans as to the standards of any good law in the world.”
“Any law that targets the people, that blocks Ugandans from organising, that kills the economy, cannot stand. We will resist it in Parliament, in the courts, and in the communities,” he added. He urged Ugandans “to be involved and fight the unfair Sovereignty law and not leave the issue to MPs, some of whom might be compromised.”
PARLIAMENT DIVIDED ON MUSEVENI’S DENIAL
Museveni’s April 30 X post — “Which Sovereignty Bill is the rwaari about? … Really!! That is not the Bill I initiated” — drew sharp reactions ahead of the Tuesday, May 5, 2026 plenary.
Opposition & Independents:
Hon. Medard Lubega Sseggona, Busiro East: “‘Muteleke’ cannot mean Parliament rubber-stamps. We legislate for Ugandans, not for Cabinet minutes. If it was not his Bill, who smuggled it to the floor?”
Hon. Joel Ssenyonyi, Leader of Opposition: “The President disowning the Bill after BOU’s warning shows the process was flawed. Withdraw it entirely. Amendments cannot fix bad faith.”
Hon. Wilfred Niwagaba, Ndorwa East: “If it was not his Bill, who smuggled it into Parliament? ‘Rwaari’ does not explain how a Bill with economic disaster provisions reached gazette stage.”
NRM & Committee Leadership:
Hon. Fox Odoi, West Budama North East: “The President has clarified his intent. The Committee will align the Bill to his guidance. We cannot kill remittances and FDI. The rwaari ends here.”
Hon. Abdu Katuntu, Bugweri County: “We’ve heard H.E. the President. The Joint Committee is incorporating his guidance. The new draft exempts remittances, FDI, religious and BOU-regulated entities.”
BACKGROUND
The Bill was gazetted April 13, 2026 and tabled April 15, 2026. It faced unanimous rejection at public hearings. BOU Governor Michael Atingi-Ego warned on April 28 of “economic disaster” if financial inflows were tampered with. Museveni disowned the draft April 30. A redrafted version was circulated May 1.
Parliament scheduled to debate the amended draft on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, 2:00 p.m.