Overview: The Government of Uganda continued to make important contributions toward countering terrorism in East Africa and the Horn of Africa in 2018.  As the largest troop contributing country to AMISOM, Uganda remained a key partner in regional efforts to neutralize alShabaab. The Ugandan government convened the Ninth High-Level Meeting of the Regional Oversight Mechanism of the Peace, Security, and Cooperation Framework, a meeting that focused heavily on the region’s response to terrorist groups in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).  Members of various East Africa-based terrorist groups are believed to use established smuggling routes throughout Uganda as a transit points to their final destinations.  However, the Uganda government has demonstrated strong political will to apprehend suspected terrorists and disrupt terrorist activity in its territory.

The Government of Uganda’s failure to effectively prosecute six suspects on terrorism charges, and to use recently passed terrorism financing legislation to disrupt illicit financing, are illustrative of its lack of capacity to hold terrorists accountable for their actions.

2018 Terrorist Incidents: There were no reported terrorist incidents in Uganda in 2018.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: Uganda made no significant changes to its counterterrorism legal framework in 2018.

In 2015, Ugandan security services arrested eight alleged al-Qa’ida and al-Shabaab members accused of plotting to bomb several locations in Kampala, and charged them with aiding and abetting terrorists and conspiracy to commit terrorism.  In November 2018, the Ugandan court system acquitted six of the suspects because prosecutors failed to provide sufficient evidence.  However, following their release, security forces immediately rearrested the acquitted suspects.  The court moved forward with charges against two other alleged terrorists, who remain in police custody.

The Uganda Police Force (UPF) Directorate of Counterterrorism is the lead law enforcement entity charged with investigating, disrupting, and responding to terrorist incidents. Resource and training gaps, as well as corruption, affected the UPF’s overall capacity to detect, deter, and respond to terrorist incidents. Interagency coordination among Ugandan security and intelligence organizations also remained a significant challenge. The Department of State provides assistance to the UPF through the Antiterrorism Assistance program, which focused on building law enforcement capacity to reduce terrorism threats.

Border security remained a persistent concern for the Ugandan government, with especially porous borders between Uganda and both South Sudan and the DRC. Uganda used the U.S.-provided PISCES to conduct traveler screening at the country’s major ports of entry.

The Government of Uganda is increasingly concerned about security threats along the country’s western border with the DRC, particularly from the eastern DRC-based armed group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which it has accused of killing civilians and planning attacks against Ugandan interests.  In November, Ugandan security officials met with their DRC counterparts to discuss ways to better coordinate and address the security threat posed by the ADF.

Countering the Financing of Terrorism: Uganda is a member of the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG), a FATF-style regional body. Although Uganda made significant progress on legislation to govern illicit terrorism financing in 2017, these authorities were reportedly not used to prosecute suspects in 2018. Uganda underwent its mutual evaluation in 2016 and in 2018 exited the FATF “grey list” for deficiencies identified in their 2007 report.

Private sector interlocutors said most of Uganda’s banks do not have the capacity or technology to comply with Uganda’s financial regulations, and reported that an enormous volume of mobile money transactions skirt Uganda’s financial regulatory framework entirely.

Countering Violent Extremism: UPF officials report that the Ugandan government developed a draft CVE National Action Plan in 2018.  However, the government has not socialized the draft with security partners, and there is no timeline for its release.

International and Regional Cooperation: Uganda participates in counterterrorism efforts through its membership in the UN, Djibouti-based Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the East African Community, PREACT, the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Although not a member, Uganda also participated in GCTF regional workshops and events.

In October, the Ugandan government hosted a Ministerial and High-Level Meeting of the Regional Oversight Mechanism of the Peace, Security, and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and the Region.  The conference focused largely on the threat of ADF and other armed groups in eastern DRC. Senior-level regional leaders agreed to meet subsequently to discuss these issues in more detail.