At a press conference held on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at the Kampala Media Centre, Dennis Mugimba, chair of the AFCON local communications and signage subcommittee and spokesperson for Uganda’s Ministry of Education and Sports, mainly sought to reassure the public about the country’s level of preparedness for 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
The briefing was first and foremost an opportunity to review the progress of the preparations, including stadiums, roads, hotels, airport support, marketing, and additional funding, as Uganda is set to co-host the tournament with Kenya and Tanzania under the banner “Pamoja 2027.”
Dennis Mugimba also stressed that CAF is monitoring not only the final completion of the projects, but also their progress, just weeks after an inspection visit carried out by its experts in the three host countries.
Uganda: three months of visa fee waivers around AFCON 2027
On the entry formalities front, the clearest announcement concerns the removal of visa fees for visitors traveling to Uganda over a three-month period.
According to Dennis Mugimba, that window will cover the month before the tournament kicks off on June 19, 2027, the month of the competition itself, and the month following the final on July 18.
“The government has also committed to waiving visa fees for all visitors to Uganda for a period of three months, beginning one month before the month of AFCON, covering the tournament month itself, and continuing for one month after the final match. During that three-month window, all visitors coming to Uganda will be exempt from visa fees,” Dennis Mugimba said.
The measure is intended as an incentive at a time when Kampala wants to make it easier for fans, official guests tied to the tournament, and tourists to travel to the country.
At this stage, however, it does not necessarily mean that all entry procedures will disappear. The measure could take the form of a waiver of the electronic visa (e-Visa) fee, which travelers can currently apply for through the official portal at visas.immigration.go.ug.
"The Cabinet of @GovUganda decided to grant a visa waiver for visitors coming to Uganda, starting one month before the kickoff of AFCON 2027 and ending one month after the tournament. This decision is intended to encourage more visitors to come to Uganda as part of the marketing… pic.twitter.com/44CMGN1Trt
— AFCON Pamoja Uganda (@afconpamoja) April 7, 2026
The “PAMOJA” common visa project with Kenya and Tanzania resurfaces
Dennis Mugimba also confirmed that Uganda supports the creation of a joint “PAMOJA” visa with Kenya and Tanzania in order to facilitate travel between the three countries during AFCON 2027.
Here too, he was careful to show that the issue is moving forward at the political level. “As Pamoja, we are also working on the possibility of a special-purpose joint ‘PAMOJA visa’,” he said, explaining that discussions are underway with Kenya and Tanzania and their organizing committees so that they can, on their side, “engage their respective governments and authorities on this matter.” “We are pleased to report that, for Uganda, the Cabinet has already endorsed this position and supports the joint ‘PAMOJA visa’,” Dennis Mugimba added.
The idea is not new. The common visa proposal had already been circulating ahead of CHAN 2024, which was also co-hosted last summer by the three neighboring countries. If it moves forward, the measure should make border crossings smoother for players, officials, media, and fans, with the practical arrangements still to be finalized by the different immigration authorities.
The project would have real practical value because it would cover a space that is not currently united under a single travel document: the existing East Africa Tourist Visa already allows travel between Uganda, Kenya, and Rwanda, but it does not include Tanzania.
Pending any concrete rollout of the PAMOJA visa, entry rules remain separate depending on the destination country: e-Visa for Uganda, e-Visa for Tanzania, and an electronic travel authorization, or ETA, for Kenya.
