written by Rodney Muhumuza, AP
Friday December 20, 2013
KAMPALA, Uganda — Ugandan lawmakers Friday passed an anti-gay bill that calls for life imprisonment for certain homosexual acts, drawing criticism from rights campaigners who called it the worst such legislation in the world.
When the bill was first introduced in 2009, it was widely condemned for including the death penalty, but that was removed from the revised version passed by parliament.
Instead it sets life imprisonment as the penalty for a homosexual act in which one of the partners is infected with HIV, for sex with minors and the disabled, and for repeated sexual offenses among consenting adults, according to the office of a spokeswoman for Uganda’s parliament.
The bill also prescribes a seven-year jail term for a person who “conducts a marriage ceremony” for same-sex couples.
Lawmakers passed the bill unanimously, with no one voicing an objection.
President Yoweri Museveni must sign the bill within 30 days for it to become law. Although in the past he spoke disparagingly of gays, in recent times Museveni has softened his position on the matter, saying he is only opposed to gays who appear to “promote” themselves.
“In our society there were a few homosexuals,” Museveni said in March. “There was no persecution, no killings and no marginalization of these people, but they were regarded as deviants.”
The passage of the bill makes it “a truly terrifying day for human rights in Uganda,” said Frank Mugisha, a prominent Ugandan gay activist, who called the legislation “the worst anti-gay law in the world.” He urged the country’s president not to sign the bill into law.
“It will open a new era of fear and persecution,” he said. “If this law is signed by President Museveni, I’d be thrown in jail for life and in all likelihood killed.”
Homosexuality already was illegal in Uganda under a colonial-era law that criminalized sexual acts “against the order of nature,” but the Ugandan lawmaker who wrote the new legislation argued that tougher legislation was needed because homosexuals from the West threatened to destroy Ugandan families and were allegedly “recruiting” Ugandan children into gay lifestyles.
Despite criticism of the anti-gay legislation abroad, it is supported by many Ugandans who say the country has the right to pass laws that protect its children.
Homosexuality remains a taboo subject across many parts of Africa. Some 38 African countries — about 70 percent of the continent — criminalize homosexual activity, Amnesty International said in a report released earlier this year.
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AFP news
written by Staff
Friday January 2, 2014
Kampala — Uganda President Yoweri Museveni will not rush to approve a controversial anti-gay draft law, widely criticised internationally but overwhelmingly backed by local political and religious leaders, his spokesman said on Thursday.
Uganda's parliament adopted the bill on December 20. It will see repeat offenders jailed for life, sparking an international outcry as lawmakers hailed it as a victory against "evil".
"There has been pressure from religious leaders and parliament to sign the bill into law," presidential spokesman Tamale Mirundi told AFP, adding that Museveni "won't rush to assent the bill before he studies it" fully.
"President Museveni is a practical president, he takes decisions based on analysis and not on how many support or are against it," he added.
Deputies voted overwhelmingly in favour of the text, which has been condemned by rights activists and world leaders.
But gay rights activists in Uganda say the legislation has widespread support in the fiercely homophobic nation.
An earlier draft not approved by parliament had proposed the death penalty for repeat offenders.
Some Ugandans have raised concerns that donor aid could be restricted if the bill is signed into law, while British tycoon Richard Branson has urged companies to boycott Uganda over the draconian bill.
Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has warned the law "would reinforce stigma and prejudice, and institutionalise discrimination."
Homophobia is widespread in Uganda, where American-style evangelical Christianity is on the rise. Gay men and women in the country face frequent harassment and threats of violence, and rights activists have also reported cases of lesbians being subjected to "corrective" rapes.
In 2011, prominent Ugandan gay rights activist David Kato was bludgeoned to death at his home after a newspaper splashed photos, names and addresses of gays in Uganda on its front page along with a yellow banner reading "Hang Them".
AIDS activists say the law will prevent gays from having access to essential public health information, such as how to protect themselves from HIV and how to access life saving treatment and support services.
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