By Staff Reporter
Kampala, March 22 — Uganda’s parliament has passed one of the harshest anti-gay bills in Africa, which includes life imprisonment and the death penalty for certain cases. Homosexual acts are already illegal in Uganda, but this bill introduces many new criminal offences, including making merely identifying as gay illegal for the first time. Friends, family, and members of the community will have a duty to report individuals in same-sex relationships to the authorities.
The bill has been condemned by Amnesty International, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and UK’s Africa Minister Andrew Mitchell. Amnesty International has called the bill “appalling,” “ambiguous,” and “vaguely worded,” and said it would institutionalize discrimination, hatred, and prejudice against LGBTI people.
The bill’s backers argue they are trying to protect children, but gay rights activists accuse the government of using the bill to distract the public from its failures to address pressing economic concerns. Members of the queer community have been blackmailed and extorted for money and even lured into traps for mob attacks. In some areas, even law enforcers are using the current environment to extort money from people they accuse of being gay, and even some families are reporting their own children to the police.
Individuals or institutions that support or fund LGBT rights activities or organizations, or publish, broadcast, and distribute pro-gay media material and literature, also face prosecution and imprisonment. Media groups, journalists, and publishers also face prosecution and imprisonment for publishing, broadcasting, or distributing any content that advocates for gay rights or “promotes homosexuality.” Property owners also face the risk of being jailed if their premises are used as a “brothel” for homosexual acts or any other sexual minorities rights activities.
A small group of Ugandan MPs on a committee scrutinizing the bill disagreed with its premise. They argue that the offences it seeks to criminalize are already covered in the country’s Penal Code Act. The bill will now go to President Yoweri Museveni, who can choose to use his veto, maintain good relations with Western donors and investors, or sign it into law. Museveni has made several anti-gay comments in recent weeks and criticized Western countries for putting pressure on Uganda over the issue.
Same-sex relations are banned in about 30 African countries, where many people uphold conservative religious and social values. The passing of this bill puts gay Ugandans at risk of further attacks and persecution, leading to more fear and uncertainty within the LGBTQ+ community in Uganda. – Namibia Daily News
