Sources within the government have told Bbeg Media that they have received signals that the Donald Trump administration could lift sanctions imposed on senior Ugandan officials by the Biden government last year.
Some of the beneficiaries of this move, sources said, are likely to be Speaker Anita Among and ministers Agnes Nandutu and Mary Goretti Kitutu.
The trio was sanctioned in May last year due to its alleged involvement in corruption tied to the Karamoja iron sheets saga.
In addition, the US then expressed her displeasure over Among’s cheer-leading role in the passing of the Anti-Homosexuality law.
However, under Trump, highly placed sources told us, the US has made it clear that it will concentrate on internal matters and not meddle in the affairs of other countries.
Trump’s government has also made it clear that it will only recognize two sexes (male and female) and that promotion of LGBTQI+ rights at home and abroad is not part of its agenda.
Trump signed an executive order suspending the operations of USAID, which has been a major conduit for funds for human rights groups in Uganda and beyond.
The sanctions meant that Among and other ministers could not travel to the US. Their economic assets in the US were also frozen. Among’s husband, Moses Magogo, and their children were also affected by the sanctions.
But this looks set to change.
“Marco Rubio [US Secretary of State] and his team are looking into this. They have so much on their plate right now, but we have been given signals that our concerns are going to be worked on,” said a source, a senior official in government.
We have been told Uganda’s issues are specifically being handled by David H. Gamble Jr, the Acting Coordinator for Sanctions in the US State Department.
Our sources said Gamble Jr is working closely with Albert T. Gombis, the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights at the US State Department.
Our sources claimed that the sanctions are likely to be lifted before the end of June this year.
Should the sanctions be lifted, it will be a blow to human rights activists who pushed hard for the Among’s punishment.
It will be a big let-off for Among, who, for most of last year, has rarely ventured into Europe or the US to fear of arrest.
In the same vein, we have been told that the US plans to reinstate Uganda on the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) arrangement.
In December 2023, Biden’s administration struck Uganda off the list of sub-Saharan African countries that can benefit from AGOA on a claim that Uganda’s government had grossly violated “internationally recognized human rights”
Uganda was suspended alongside Central African Republic, Gabon and Niger.
Sources told us that the reinstatement of AGOA is being worked on by Odrek Rwabwogo, the senior presidential advisor on Special Duties who has been outspoken on increasing Uganda’s economic competitiveness through trade.
