The law is called the Political Parties and Organisations (Amendment) Act, 2025. It was passed on Tuesday and is already causing concern among many opposition leaders and rights groups.
The new law changes how political parties receive money from the government. It says that only parties that follow democratic principles will be given public funds.
These principles include peaceful behaviour, respecting other political parties, avoiding hate speech, and taking part in the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD).
One major rule in the law is that parties must be part of IPOD to receive funding. But this creates a big problem for NUP because they have refused to join IPOD for a long time.
NUP says IPOD is a group that favours the ruling party, National Resistance Movement (NRM), and is not fair to opposition parties.
Currently, NUP gets over Shs 3.1 billion every year from the government. This money is used for many things like running party offices, recruiting new members, grassroots mobilisation, media campaigns, and reaching out to Ugandans living abroad. Without this money, the party may struggle to stay strong before the 2026 elections.
The law was introduced by Member of Parliament Faith Nakut, and it passed with strong support from ruling party MPs. However, opposition MPs and some independent leaders tried to stop it.
Jimmy Akena, the MP for Lira Municipality, said the law was “diabolical” and made in “bad faith” without proper talks with all political parties.
Another MP, Jonathan Odur, said the law is against the Constitution and is meant to punish parties that challenge the ruling party.
Supporters of the law say it will help to bring peace and responsible politics in Uganda. The Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, which studied the law, said it would stop violence and extremism.
They believe that parties should not use government money if they do not support national unity and peace. But many people are worried. Human rights defenders say the law is dangerous and could be used to silence opposition parties.
One legal expert said, “This law says you must agree with the government or lose your funding. That’s not democracy.”
NUP has also been facing pressure from the government over claims of violence. Some of its leaders like Eddie Mutwe are in court facing serious charges.
Others are in jail, and the government says the party has encouraged violence, especially among young people.
This new law gives more power to the Electoral Commission, which will now check all political parties in Parliament to see who is still allowed to get public funding.
That means NUP must make a big decision: either join IPOD, take the government to court, or lose the funding completely.
