Experts have expressed their worry that civic space in Uganda has continued to narrow, due to negative legal frameworks and political intervention.

Civic space refers to the environment that allows individuals and groups to participate freely in political, social and cultural life, enabling them to organize, speak out, assemble and influence their societies without fear.

Dr. Livingstone Sewanyana, an Advocate of the High Court of Uganda said that a raft of restrictive legislation—including the NGO (Amendment) Act (2024), Public Order Management Act (2013), Anti-Money Laundering Act (2013), Anti-Terrorism Act (2002), Computer Misuse (Amendment) Act (2022), and the Anti-Homosexuality Act (2023)—has imposed onerous registration requirements.

“These laws have imposed excessive reporting obligations, and broad government powers to suspend or dissolve NGOs. As a result, organizations have faced the freezing of bank accounts and denial of funding,” he said in a Civic Freedom Monitor (CFM) Country Note he issued recently.

 Sewanyana, who is also the Executive Director of Foundation for Human Rights Initiative, a Ugandan civil rights NGO, said that NGOs engaged in democracy promotion and human rights advocacy have often been subjected to intimidation and increasingly targeted by state and non-state actors, both offline and online, with a goal of undermining their activism.

“Civic actors are also contending with shrinking space for free expression and peaceful assembly. The government has increasingly constrained the legal and practical space for expression and advocacy,” he noted.

He further said that peaceful assemblies are heavily restricted under the Public Order Management Act, with organizers required to seek police approval and facing the risk of dispersal or prosecution for non-compliance.

“This is a worrying trend since civil society organizations (CSOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play a vital role in Uganda,” he said, adding that approximately 14,000 registered NGOs engage across a wide range of issues, including providing services to citizens, advancing democratic governance, advocating for human rights.

Sewanyana further said that Uganda’s legal system, rooted in English common law and customary law, is underpinned by the 1995 Constitution, which guarantees the freedoms of conscience, expression, movement, religion, assembly, and association.

“Article 29 (1)(e) protects the right to freedom of association, encompassing the formation and joining of associations or unions, including trade unions and political and other civic organizations.”

The Constitution further guarantees that civic organizations retain autonomy in the pursuit of their declared objectives.