Today in History: Uganda Promulgates the 1995 Constitution

What the report says

Uganda marked the promulgation of its 1995 Constitution on October 8, 1995, a milestone that Nile Post says replaced the 1967 Constitution and came just before the country’s 33rd Independence Day anniversary. The ceremony was held at the Nile Hotel International Conference Centre in Kampala, where Constituent Assembly Chair James Wapakhabulo handed the new constitution to President Yoweri Museveni for signing.

According to the publication, the document was the result of a long constitutional process that began in 1988 with nationwide consultations led by the Uganda Constitutional Commission under Justice Benjamin Odoki. Its proposals were later debated by the 284-member Constituent Assembly in 1994 and 1995, where delegates argued over the country’s political system, the balance of power among state institutions and protections for individual rights.

Nile Post says the constitution established the supremacy of the law, set out rights and freedoms, defined the roles of the Executive, Parliament and Judiciary, and introduced presidential term limits and affirmative action provisions. It also addressed land tenure and ownership. The report places the promulgation in a broader historical context, noting that some provisions were later revised, but that the 1995 charter remains a key reference point in Uganda’s debates over governance, democracy and political reform.