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Thursday, 23 April 2026
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Democracy·Human Rights

Uganda parliament weighs bill that could jail citizens for receiving money from abroad

Friday, 17 April 2026, 22:06 · 1 min read

Uganda's parliament is debating a "protection of sovereignty" bill that could make it a criminal offence to receive remittances from overseas without prior government approval, with penalties of up to 10 years in prison for failing to register and up to 20 years for offences deemed "economic sabotage." Critics warn the legislation could effectively classify any Ugandan living abroad as a foreigner, potentially stripping up to one million diaspora members of their citizenship and cutting off the roughly $2.5 billion they send home each year. Civil society groups, including the Centre for Constitutional Governance, argue the bill is unconstitutional and would devastate ordinary families who rely on remittances for essentials such as school fees, while also targeting political opponents like musician-turned-opposition figure Bobi Wine currently in the United States; the bill could be passed as soon as 10 May.

Sources
RFIOuganda: un projet de loi pourrait criminaliser les transferts d'argent de la diaspora ↗︎
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