DENYING HUMAN RIGHTS
Uganda passes bill criminalizing people for identifying as LGBTQ
Bill prescribes jail terms of up to 10 years for offences related to same-sex relations
Ugandan lawmakers passed a bill prescribing jail terms of up to 10 years for offences related to same-sex relations, responding to widespread anti-LGBTQ sentiment in the country but piling more pressure on the East African country's LGBTQ community.
The bill was passed late Tuesday inside a packed parliamentary chamber, and after a roll call ordered by the House speaker, who had repeatedly warned it was necessary to identify those who might oppose the bill. It was supported by nearly all of the 389 legislators present.
"Congratulations," said Speaker Anita Among. "Whatever we are doing, we are doing it for the people of Uganda."
The new law appears to be the first to outlaw identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning/queer (LGBTQ), according to rights group Human Rights Watch
An earlier version of the bill enacted in 2014 later was nullified by a court on procedural grounds. Human Rights Watch has described the legislation as "a more egregious version" of the 2014 law, which drew widespread international concern and was struck down amid pressure from Uganda's development partners.
The bill now will go to President Yoweri Museveni, who can veto or sign it into law. He suggested in a recent speech that he supports the bill, accusing unnamed Western nations of "trying to impose their practices on other people."
The bill was introduced last month by an opposition lawmaker who said his goal was to punish "promotion, recruitment and funding" related to LGBTQ activities. The bill also creates the offence of "aggravated homosexuality," which applies to same-sex cases relating to those infected with HIV as well as minors and other vulnerable people. It was not immediately clear what the punishment is for that offence following last-minute amendments in a protracted plenary session in the capital, Kampala.
Jail terms for 'attempted homosexuality'
The bill also creates the offence of "attempted homosexuality," punishable with up to 10 years in jail.
Same-sex activity is already punishable with life imprisonment under a colonial-era law targeting "carnal knowledge against the order of nature," partly the basis of a report by dissenters on the parliamentary committee that vetted the bill before Tuesday's vote.
The bill is "ill-conceived" and unconstitutional because it "criminalizes individuals instead of conduct," said lawmaker Fox Odoi, representing the dissenters.
The bill, if signed into law, "would violate multiple fundamental rights, including rights to freedom of expression and association, privacy, equality, and non-discrimination, according to Human Rights Watch.
"One of the most extreme features of this new bill is that it criminalizes people simply for being who they are as well as further infringing on the rights to privacy, and freedoms of expression and association that are already compromised in Uganda," the group's Oryem Nyeko said in a statement earlier this month.
"Ugandan politicians should focus on passing laws that protect vulnerable minorities and affirm fundamental rights and stop targeting LGBT people for political capital."
Anti-LGBTQ sentiment growing in Uganda
Anti-LGBTQ sentiment in Uganda has grown in recent weeks amid alleged reports of sodomy in boarding schools, including a prestigious school for boys where a parent accused a teacher of abusing her son. Authorities are investigating that case.
Uganda's LGBTQ community in recent years has faced pressure from civilian authorities who wanted a tough new law punishing same-sex activity.
The Ugandan agency overseeing the work of NGOs last year stopped the operations of Sexual Minorities Uganda, the most prominent LGBTQ organization in the country, accusing it of failing to register legally. But the group's leader stated that his organization had been rejected by the registrar of companies as undesirable.
The recent decision of the Church of England to bless civil marriages of same-sex couples also has inflamed many in Uganda, including some who see homosexuality as imported from abroad.
"The Church of England has departed from the Anglican faith and are now false teachers," Ugandan Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba said in a statement last month that described "a crisis at hand."
Homosexuality is criminalized in more than 30 of Africa's 54 countries.
With files from Reuters
Ugandan parliament passes bill to jail gay people
Watch: Cheers and applause as Uganda passes anti-gay bill
Uganda's parliament has passed a bill which would criminalise people who identify as gay, or a sexual minority.
Individuals could face lengthy prison terms if the bill is signed into law by President Yoweri Museveni.
Under the proposed legislation, friends, family and members of the community would have a duty to report individuals in same-sex relationships to the authorities.
Homosexual acts are already illegal in the east African country.
But the bill seeks to go further and criminalise people on the basis of their sexual identity.
The bill, which was first tabled earlier this month, passed with widespread support in Uganda's parliament on Tuesday.
It will now go to President Museveni who can choose to use his veto - and maintain good relations with Western donors and investors - or sign it into law.
The bill also stipulates that a person who is convicted of grooming or trafficking children for purposes of engaging them in homosexual activities faces life in prison.
Individuals or institutions which support or fund LGBT rights' activities or organisations, or publish, broadcast and distribute pro-gay media material and literature, also face prosecution and imprisonment.
A small group of Ugandan MPs on a committee scrutinising the bill disagreed with its premise. They argue the offences it seeks to criminalise are already covered in the country's Penal Code Act.
Activists and LGBT people in Uganda have said that anti-homosexuality sentiment in the country is exposing them to physical and online violence, and that the bill may have far-reaching consequences for Ugandans in general.
In 2014, Uganda's constitutional court nullified a similar act which had toughened laws against the LGBT community.
It included making it illegal to promote and fund LGBT groups and activities, as well as reiterating that homosexual acts should be punished by life imprisonment.
The court ruled that the legislation be revoked because it had been passed by parliament without the required quorum. The law had been widely condemned by Western countries.
Same-sex relations are banned in about 30 African countries, where many people uphold conservative religious and social values.
AFPHuman rights campaigners condemn bill introducing capital and life imprisonment sentences
Samuel Okiror in KampalaTue 21 Mar 2023
MPs in Uganda have passed a controversial anti-LGBTQ+ bill, which would make homosexual acts punishable by death, attracting strong condemnation from rights campaigners.
All but two of the 389 legislators voted late on Tuesday for the hardline anti-homosexuality bill, which introduces capital and life imprisonment sentences for gay sex and “recruitment, promotion and funding” of same-sex “activities”.
“A person who commits the offence of aggravated homosexuality and is liable, on conviction to suffer death,” reads the bill presented by Robina Rwakoojo, the chairperson for legal and parliamentary affairs.
Just two MPs from the ruling party, Fox Odoi-Oywelowo and Paul Kwizera Bucyana, opposed the new legislation.
“The bill is ill-conceived, it contains provisions that are unconstitutional, reverses the gains registered in the fight against gender-based violence and criminalises individuals instead of conduct that contravenes all known legal norms,” said Odoi-Oywelowo.
“The bill doesn’t introduce any value addition to the statute book and available legislative framework,” he said.
An earlier version of the bill prompted widespread international criticism and was later nullified by Uganda’s constitutional court on procedural grounds. The bill will now go to President Yoweri Museveni, who can veto or sign it into law. In a recent speech he appeared to express support for the bill.
One MP in the chamber, John Musila, wore a gown reading: “Say No To Homosexual, Lesbianism, Gay.”
The bill marks the latest in a string of setbacks for LGBTQ+rights in Africa, where homosexuality is illegal in most countries. In Uganda, a largely conservative Christian country, homosexual sex was already punishable by life imprisonment.
Human rights campaigners have condemned the new move to enact the harsh law, describing it as “hate legislation”.
“Today marks a tragic day in Uganda’s history. @Parliament_Ug has passed legislation that promotes hatred and seeks to strip LGBTIQ individuals of their fundamental rights!” tweeted Sarah Kasande, a Kampala-based lawyer and human rights activist.
“The provisions of the anti-homosexuality bill are barbaric, discriminatory and unconstitutional,” she said.
She added: “To the LGBTIQ community, I know this is a difficult day, but please don’t lose hope. The battle is not over; this repugnant bill will ultimately be struck down.”
Gay activist Eric Ndawula tweeted: “Today’s events in parliament are not just immoral, but a complete assault on humanity. It’s frightening that our MPs’ judgment is clouded by hate & homophobia. Who benefits from this draconian law?”
More than 110 LGBTQ+ people in Uganda reported incidents including arrests, sexual violence, evictions and public undressing to advocacy group Sexual Minorities Uganda (Smug) in February alone. Transgender people were disproportionately affected, said the group.
“We shall continue to fight this injustice. This lesbian woman is Ugandan even this piece of paper will [not] stop me from enjoying my country. Struggle just begun,” said Nabagesera in a tweet.
Kasande said: “We will fight until all individuals in Uganda can enjoy the rights guaranteed to them by the constitution.”
President Museveni last month said Uganda will not embrace homosexuality, claiming that the west was seeking to compel other countries to “normalise” what he called “deviations”.
“The western countries should stop wasting the time of humanity by trying to impose their practices on other people,” said Museveni in a televised address to parliament on 16 March.
“Homosexuals are deviations from the normal. Why? Is it by nature or by nurture? We need to answer those questions. We need a medical opinion on that,” he said.
“It’s disappointing that parliament would, once again, pass a bill that is clearly in contravention of several basic human rights,” said Oryem Nyeko, a researcher in the Africa division at Human Rights Watch.
“This just opens the door for more regressive laws and for people’s rights to be violated across the board. President Museveni shouldn’t assent to it,” he said.
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