A Call To Codify Consumer Rights In Uganda

On 15 March each year, the global community celebrates World Consumer Rights Day. The day serves as an opportunity to raise awareness about basic consumer rights, to highlight the challenges consumers face and to advocate for stronger protections against unfair market practices.

A new chapter for consumer protection in COMESA

This year, there was something worth celebrating. The launch of the COMESA Competition and Consumer Protection Regulations, 2025 ("the Regulations"), introduced a wave of enhanced consumer protection provisions designed to improve consumer welfare across the COMESA Member States. The Regulations were approved and adopted by the COMESA Council of Ministers on 4 December 2025, replacing the old regulations that had served the region for more than 20 years.

Recognising consumer rights

The Regulations have a strong focus on the protection of consumer rights. They now expressly recognise internationally-aligned consumer rights, providing a clearer foundation for enforcement. Consumers are guaranteed a suite of rights including, the right to be protected against products or production processes that are hazardous to health or life, the right to complete and accurate information relating to products, the right to complain and be heard in the event that a consumer right is violated and the right to the protection of privacy and confidentiality in the purchase and usage of products.

The Regulations also address modern challenges by explicitly prohibiting dark patterns and scams per se – deceptive online practices that manipulate consumers into making unintended decisions. A new prohibition on unfair contract terms that cause a significant imbalance in the rights and obligations of the contracting parties, to the detriment of the consumer has also been established.

Product safety receives particular attention under the Regulations. Suppliers are prohibited from supplying unsafe products or those that cause significant harm to the environment, thereby endangering consumers' lives, health or safety. The Regulations also introduce detailed mandatory labelling requirements, mandating that labels include essential information such as the manufacturer's name, contact details, date of manufacture, country of origin, ingredients and nutritional and allergen information. Such disclosure must be clear, conspicuous and comprehensible, in an appropriate language for the target consumer market.

Where products and defective or unsuitable, consumers are entitled to a refund within twenty-one days or, if they prefer, a replacement. The COMESA Competition and Consumer Commission (previously known as the "COMESA Competition Commission") may institute compulsory product recalls where products may cause injury, fail to comply with safety standards or have been declared unsafe. Voluntary product recalls have also been introduced to provide manufacturers with the opportunity to notify the public after detecting a hazard or safety issue in a product.

What this means for Uganda

For Ugandans, these protections hold promise. In a market where customers have encountered substandard products, the COMESA framework offers a model for comprehensive protection. Uganda currently lacks a dedicated legal framework for consumer protection or an enforcement agency with powers comparable to those of the COMESA Competition and Consumer Commission. This gap leaves Ugandan consumers vulnerable and without adequate mechanisms to defend their rights.

Various sector-specific laws touch on consumer issues, including the Bank of Uganda Financial Consumer Protection Guidelines 2011, the Financial Consumer Protection Guidelines for Tier 4 Microfinance Institutions and Money Lenders, 2019 and the Uganda Communications (Consumer Protection) Regulations, 2019. In the insurance sector, consumer protection regulations are expected soon.

However the Bank of Uganda Financial Consumer Protection Guidelines have been undermined by court pronouncements that as guidelines, as opposed to regulations, they are unenforceable. This underscores the limitations of relying on sector-specific instruments alone. Notwithstanding these sector-specific efforts, Uganda requires an overarching consumer protection law that can be drawn upon across all sectors of the economy.

Uganda would do well to draw upon the COMESA Regulations in developing its own consumer protection legislation. It is encouraging that the Competition Act, (Cap. 66) already assigns the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives the function of protecting the interests of consumers in the market and implementing the law relating to consumer protections. The Minister is also empowered to make regulations for the Act's implementation. The Act does not however prescribe specific provisions that speak to consumer rights, product safety or unfair trade practices. The existing framework provides a ready basis upon which consumer protection regulations could be developed.

Government has both an opportunity and an obligation to strengthen its domestic framework. A dedicated consumer protection law could codify consumer rights recognised internationally, establish a competent authority for enforcing these rights and provide accessible and effective remedies for aggrieved consumers. In the digital age, such legislation could also address the challenges of e-commerce including online fraud, data protection and the responsibilities of digital platforms. In neighbouring Kenya, a standalone Consumer Protection Act provides a legal framework for the protection of consumers from unfair trade practices - a model from which Uganda could draw valuable lessons.

As we celebrate World Consumer Rights Day, let us recognise that empowered and protected consumers are essential to a thriving local, regional and global marketplace.

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