As of 2014 the Ugandan parliament had enacted a number of laws that in the long run aim at curtailing freedoms of expression, speech, assembly and association. Top on the rank were the regulations for interception of communications Act, the anti-pornography Act, the public order management Act, the computer misuse Act and the just enacted Anti-homosexual Act.
With the support from civil society organizations, a group of activists and lawyers have continuously challenged the said laws, some with success while others without, those with success, the like the anti-homosexual Act where the constitutional court declared it null and void on grounds of procedural defects by parliament, the same members of parliament have vowed to reintroduce it and have it passed with the required numbers to rectify the procedural errors. Other laws have been lined up for constitutional interpretation and verdicts are still eagerly awaited.
Through the said laws, many media houses have commenced practicing self-censorship, opposition figures of government have been barred from accessing various expression platforms has their ways are considered un-developmental and thus diversionary, while many journalists have been suspended or dismissed from employment for hosting opposition politicians or expressing views that are contrary to the position of the state. Many Ugandans cannot assembly nor associate without the express permission of the authorities including have online association as the recently established Social Media monitoring center, and the cyber-crimes unit under the Uganda police force coupled with the monitoring center established under the Regulations of Interception of communications Act aim at stifling all forms of expression, and profiling activists both offline and online to prefer criminal charges.