Parliamentary Oversight of the Security Sector in Uganda

Abstract

Oversight of the security sector cannot remain the exclusive preserve of the government alone without inviting potential abuse. In post-independence Uganda, the security sector has been at the center of political instability and human rights violations. The military has been used by various political groups to overthrow elected governments. From 1962 to 2021, Uganda has never witnessed a peaceful handover of power from one leader to another. This has largely been due to the intransigence of the security sector. Consequently, the framers of the 1995 Uganda constitution provided that the security sector shall be subordinate to civilian authority and shall observe and respect fundamental human rights. This article articulates the various legal mechanisms at the disposal of the Parliament of Uganda to hold the security sector players accountable. While there are many oversight mechanisms, the human rights record of security sector institutions remains poor. Parliament faces many obstacles in overseeing the security sector such as the securitization of social service delivery, the privatization of security services, and the entrenched military traditions of secrecy and loyalty to the commander-in-chief. Until democratic notions such as executive accountability to Parliament, security sector political neutrality, and security sector human rights observance, are enforced politically, the dividends of parliamentary oversight of the security sector will remain low.