Uganda
Updated June 28, 2023
Uganda
Uganda is a major recipient of U.S. foreign aid. It has also
Figure 1. Uganda Key Facts
been a top beneficiary of U.S. security assistance in Africa
since the mid-2000s. U.S. officials have characterized the
country as an important security partner in Sub-Saharan
Africa. Uganda has played a leading role in stability and
counterterrorism operations in the region, most notably in
Somalia, and its role in these operations has often aligned
with U.S. regional security goals. Human rights,
governance and corruption concerns have complicated the
bilateral relationship, however, prompting questions from
Congress about its trajectory. Uganda’s ties to U.S. global
adversaries are also sometimes a source of strain.
Politics
Uganda has never had a democratic transition of power.
President Yoweri Museveni is among the world’s longest-
Source: Data from CIA World Factbook, IMF, and the World Bank.
serving heads of state. After he seized power in 1986, he
In 2021, U.S. diplomats in Uganda were reportedly targeted
wrote, “The problem of Africa in general and Uganda in
with surveillance equipment acquired from an Israeli
particular is not the people but leaders who want to stay in
power.”
company, NSO Group, which the U.S. Commerce
Almost four decades later, he remains in office,
Department subsequently designated for export controls. It
supported by the National Resistance Movement (NRM),
is unclear who was behind the hacking.
formed from the rebel group he led in the 1980s. The NRM-
dominated parliament abolished presidential term limits in
Human Rights Concerns
2005 and removed the constitutional age limit for
The State Department’s most recent human rights report on
presidential candidates in 2017, spurring protests and a
Uganda documents restrictions on political rights,
security crackdown. Opinion surveys have suggested most
widespread torture, and excessive force and extrajudicial
Ugandans support age and term limits.
killings by security forces; it notes that officers implicated
Museveni, now 78, won a sixth term in January 2021, in
in abuses often enjoy impunity. Human rights groups have
polls marked by allegations of security force intimidation
criticized the government for failing to hold security
and violence, harassment of the opposition, and fraud. Per
personnel accountable for torture (1,100 allegations of
the official tally, he won over 58% of the vote, his lowest
torture were reported between 2019 and 2022).
official margin of victory yet. The NRM maintained control
Political repression and violence marred the 2021 election
of the parliament, but opposition candidates gained ground
period, during which over 1,000 people were detained.
Musician Bobi Wine (Robert Kyagulanyi), 41, came in
Human rights groups allege that government agents
second with 34%. Elected to parliament in 2017, Wine’s
continue to abduct opposition supporters. Some victims
“People Power” movement has harnessed frustration among
have reported beatings and torture, others remain missing.
an increasingly youthful electorate. During an opposition
Authorities suspended 54 civil society groups after the
event in 2018, an elite security unit killed his driver, and
polls, accusing them of foreign-sponsored interference in
Wine, among others, was detained and beaten, fueling
Ugandan politics. Civil society actors have been arrested
protests. He was charged with treason and intent to “alarm,
for social media posts criticizing the first family.
annoy, or ridicule” the president; the case remains pending
In the rural northeastern province of Karamoja, increased
trial. Wine has since been arrested repeatedly, including in
cattle raiding since 2019 prompted a military crackdown
the midst of his presidential campaign.
(led by Kainerugaba) and a resulting hunger crisis. The
Museveni’s son, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, announced in
army has arrested over 18,000 people in response to the
2022 his interest in succeeding his father as president. He
raids and has been implicated in indiscriminate detention,
has spurred controversy with provocative tweets, some
extortion, torture, and killings there.
praising Vladimir Putin. After a 2023 meeting between the
Threats to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)
presidents of Russia and China, he described the countries
rights in Uganda have drawn international concern. The
as Africa’s “greatest friends” and called the African Union
Anti-Homosexuality Act, signed into law in May 2023,
(AU) to “join them in any confrontation with the
made “acts of homosexuality” punishable by life in prison
Colonialists!” Museveni removed Kainerugaba from his
and the “promotion of homosexuality” punishable by up to
role as army chief in late 2022 after tweets joking about
20 years in prison. It also created the capital offence of
invading Kenya. Museveni has yet to make his views on
“aggravated homosexuality.” U.S. officials have called the
Kainerugaba’s presidential ambitions clear.
law “deeply troubling” and expressed concern about the
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Uganda
implications for U.S. aid, particularly around HIV/AIDS
Uganda to pay DRC $325 million in reparations for crimes
prevention. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
during its civil and regional wars (1996-2003). Uganda
says it could lead to systemic human rights violations.
deployed troops into DRC in 2021, this time at Kinshasa’s
request, to counter the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a
In June 2023, the State Department announced visa
Ugandan-origin Islamic State affiliate that periodically
restrictions on individuals determined to be undermining
attacks Uganda. The deployment may have fueled tensions
the democratic process in Uganda, and it updated its travel
with onetime ally Rwanda, which has backed a DRC rebel
guidance to highlight the risk to LGBTQI+ persons.
group, the M23. UN sanctions monitors have also accused
The Economy and Corruption Concerns Uganda of tacitly supporting the M23. Uganda deployed
Uganda faced a recession in 2020 due to COVID-19, but its
more troops to DRC in March 2023 as part of a regional
economy is forecast to grow by almost 6% in 2023 and
intervention to stabilize areas affected by the M23.
2024. Stronger growth will be needed to manage Uganda’s
Uganda is a key troop contributor to the U.S.-backed AU
rapidly expanding population, three-quarters of whom are
Mission in Somalia (ATMIS); U.S. officials say it plays a
under 30. Unemployment is a key problem, as are rising
“critical” role in countering Al Qaeda affiliate Al Shabaab
demands for education and health services. Uganda has one
there. ATMIS’ planned withdrawal at the end of 2024, if it
of the lowest rates of access to electricity in Africa (29%).
occurs as scheduled, could have major implications for the
President Museveni has stated plans to make Uganda an
scope of U.S.-Uganda security cooperation.
upper-middle-income country by 2040. The government
Uganda’s Relations with U.S. Adversaries
has focused heavily on infrastructure investments.
China is a major source of foreign direct investment in
However, the World Bank assesses that Uganda’s growth
Uganda and owns a growing share (almost 20%) of the
model of debt-financed public spending is not sustainable.
country’s external public debt. Museveni has repeatedly
Uganda’s economic outlook is tied to its energy sector.
praised China’s “non-interference” foreign policy approach
Recoverable oil reserves are estimated at 1.4 billion barrels.
and criticized Western donor conditionality. China’s
Drilling began in 2023 in a field operated by the China
Huawei has provided Uganda with surveillance equipment,
National Offshore Oil Corporation. Construction on an oil
including facial recognition technology.
pipeline through Tanzania is due to begin this year. A U.S.-
Uganda-Russia relations have deepened in the past decade.
led consortium is working on a $3.5 billion refinery; U.S.-
Museveni has praised Russia as a partner, and the NRM
based McDermott International and China’s Sinopec have a
signed a cooperation agreement with its ruling party. In
$2 billion contract to develop an oil field together.
2022, the countries reportedly reached a deal that allowed
Gold surpassed coffee in 2018 as Uganda’s biggest foreign
for Russian government-funded news to be broadcast in
exchange earner, with gold exports rising from $10 million
Uganda and for Ugandan access to a propaganda network
to over $1 billion in the past decade. While Ugandan
linked to Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin.
officials announced the discovery of large gold deposits in
Uganda’s North Korea ties have been a source of friction in
2022, reportedly only 10% of Uganda's gold exports are
the U.S. relationship. Under pressure to comply with UN
mined there. The United States sanctioned Uganda’s Africa
sanctions, Uganda claimed to cut military ties in 2017, but
Gold Refinery (AGR) in 2022 for the illicit movement of
reports suggest some engagement may have continued.
hundreds of millions of dollars of gold from the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC); AGR was reportedly involved
U.S. Assistance & Security Cooperation
in circumventing U.S. sanctions on Venezuela in 2019.
U.S. foreign aid to Uganda has focused primarily on health
programs, but also supports agriculture, education, conflict
Critics contend that state corruption is entrenched in
mitigation, and governance initiatives. Bilateral aid totaled
Uganda and that the government has failed to hold top
over $533 million in FY2022, and the Biden Administration
officials accountable. Uganda’s state Inspector General
has requested $558 million for FY2024 (88% for health
reported in 2022 that an estimated 23% of the annual
programs). The FY2024 budget would significantly
budget was lost to corruption. Some critics also argue that
increase Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance
donor aid, which comprises a large share of the
government’s budget,
funding from under $3 million in recent years to $22
finances political patronage.
million. On top of this bilateral funding, the United States is
Embezzlement scandals involving the diversion of donor
Uganda’s largest humanitarian donor, providing over $100
funds have repeatedly led donors to suspend some aid.
million annually in recent years, mostly for food aid.
Uganda’s Regional Relations
Bilateral aid figures do not include sometimes substantial,
Uganda is one of the world’s largest refugee hosts, with an
albeit declining, security assistance for Uganda’s
open-door policy for refugees from the region. By some
participation in regional stability operations. Its military has
accounts, however, the government has profited from
received U.S. training, equipment, logistics, and advisory
conflicts in neighboring countries, including through the
support for its Somalia deployment; it also received U.S.
misappropriation of refugee aid and kleptocratic networks.
support for its operations against the Lord’s Resistance
Uganda has intervened militarily in several cases. It
Army (LRA) in neighboring countries (2008-2017).
deployed troops when South Sudan’s civil war began, at
Juba’s request, to protect the state and key infrastructure; it
Payne Fellow Abigail Martin contributed to this report.
has since been implicated in illicit arms transfers to Juba.
Lauren Ploch Blanchard, Specialist in African Affairs
Uganda has complicated relationships with neighbors DRC
and Rwanda. The International Court of Justice has ordered
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Uganda
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