How to Buy Treasury Bills and Bonds in Uganda (2026)

Government securities are, for many Ugandans, the best-kept secret in personal finance: a place to lend money to the government at attractive rates, backed by the state rather than a single bank, and now accessible from as little as UGX 100,000. If you have savings sitting idle above the deposit-insurance limit — or you just want a better return than an ordinary savings account — this is how Treasury bills and bonds work and how to buy them.

What they are

Treasury bills (T-bills) — short-term lending to the government, issued in tenors of 91, 182 and 364 days. You buy at a discount and are paid the full face value at maturity; the gap is your return. Auctions run roughly every two weeks.
Treasury bonds — longer-term, issued in tenors of 2, 3, 5, 10 and 15 years, paying interest ("coupon") every six months. Auctions run roughly monthly.

Both are issued by the Bank of Uganda on behalf of the government. Because they carry sovereign credit, they're generally considered the lowest-risk shilling investment available to a Ugandan saver, and historically among the best risk-adjusted returns.

Why they beat an idle savings account

Higher returns — yields track the Bank of Uganda rate environment (the Central Bank Rate is 9.75% as at 19 July 2026), typically well above an ordinary savings account.
No single-bank cap on safety — bank deposits are DPF-insured only to UGX 10 million per institution (see is your money safe in a Ugandan bank?). Securities carry the government's credit instead, which makes them the cleaner home for sums above that limit.
Predictable — you know the tenor and, once the auction settles, your return.

How to buy — step by step

Open a Central Securities Depository (CSD) account. This is the account that holds your securities, opened through a licensed primary dealer. As at 19 July 2026 Uganda has seven primary dealers: ABSA, Centenary Bank, Citibank, Equity Bank, Housing Finance Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Stanbic Bank.
Fund the account with at least the minimum. The minimum investment is UGX 100,000, in increments of UGX 100,000.
Submit a bid through your dealer ahead of the auction. As a retail investor you'll almost always place a non-competitive bid — meaning you don't try to set your own interest rate; you automatically receive the average accepted rate the Bank of Uganda announces after the auction. (Competitive bidding, where you name your rate, is for large institutional players.)
Wait for the auction result, then hold to maturity — or sell early on the secondary market through the Uganda Securities Exchange / your dealer if you need the cash sooner.
At maturity, the proceeds are paid to your account. You can reinvest ("roll over") to keep the ladder going.

Mind the tax

Interest on government securities is subject to withholding tax of roughly 10%–20% (the rate depends on the instrument/tenor — ). It's deducted at source, so factor the after-tax return into any comparison with a bank deposit.

A simple laddering strategy

Rather than lock everything into one tenor, ladder your money: split it across, say, 91-day, 182-day and 364-day bills (and some bonds for the longer horizon). As each matures you reinvest, so you always have money coming free on a rolling basis while the rest keeps earning the higher locked rate. It's the same discipline that makes fixed deposits work — see best savings accounts in Uganda — with sovereign backing and no single-bank cap.

Bills or bonds — which fits you?

They're the same borrower (the government) with different time horizons, and the choice is really about when you need the money back:

Treasury bills (91, 182, 364 days) suit money you'll want inside a year, or a first purchase while you learn how the auction process works. You buy at a discount and receive the full face value at maturity — your return is the difference, paid in one go at the end.
Treasury bonds (2 to 15 years) suit money you genuinely won't need, and pay interest every six months along the way. That coupon can be useful if you want income rather than a single lump at maturity.

A practical starting point for most people: begin with bills, get comfortable with the cycle, then extend into bonds for the portion of savings with a genuinely long horizon.

What happens at maturity

At maturity the proceeds are paid to the account linked to your CSD holding. You then have a choice:

Take the cash, if that's what the money was for.
Roll it over into the next auction — the simplest way to keep a ladder running. Tell your primary dealer before maturity if you want this; it isn't always automatic.

Reinvesting is where the compounding actually happens. Money that matures and then sits idle in a current account for two months has given back a chunk of what it earned.

If you need out early

Government securities are tradable. You can sell before maturity on the secondary market through your dealer or the Uganda Securities Exchange, rather than being locked in absolutely.

The catch is price: what you get depends on where market interest rates sit at that moment. If rates have risen since you bought, your security is worth less than face value to a buyer; if they've fallen, it may be worth more. That's normal bond mechanics, not a penalty — but it means early exit carries price risk that holding to maturity does not. If there's a real chance you'll need the money, choose a shorter tenor rather than planning to sell.

Frequently asked questions

How much do I need to start? UGX 100,000, in increments of UGX 100,000. You buy through a CSD account opened with a licensed primary dealer.

Are Treasury bills safer than a bank deposit? They carry the government's credit rather than a single bank's, and aren't subject to the DPF's UGX 10 million per-institution cap. For sums above that limit, securities are often the cleaner, safer home.

Do I have to guess the interest rate? No. As a retail investor you place a non-competitive bid and receive the average accepted rate from the auction automatically — no rate-guessing required.

Can I get my money out before maturity? Yes, by selling on the secondary market through your dealer / the Uganda Securities Exchange, though the price you get then depends on market rates. If you may need the cash, choose a shorter tenor.

General information, not financial advice. Minimums, dealers, tenors and tax change — confirm current details with the Bank of Uganda and a licensed primary dealer.