Uganda

Ugandan Lawmakers Present Anti-Gay Bill In Parliament With Tough New Penalties

Ugandan lawmakers on Thursday introduced a bill in the Parliament that proposes harsh new penalties for same-sex relations in the country, reported The Africa News.

Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda. Back in 2014, the country’s lawmakers passed a bill that called for life imprisonment for people caught having gay sex, although a court later revoked the law.

On Thursday, Annet Anita Among, the parliament speaker, forwarded the bill to a house committee for scrutiny, where there will be public hearings before it returns to parliament for a debate and a vote.

In an address before the Ugandan parliament laced with homophobic language, Ms. Among said that there would be a public hearing in which sexual minorities would be allowed to participate.

“Let the public come express their views — including the homos — allow them to come,” she said.

The Ugandan speaker said when the time comes; legislators would be made to vote on the bill one by one in front of their peers.

“This is the time you are going to show us if you are a homo or not,” she said.

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) said it believed that if the bill was passed then Uganda would become the only African country to criminalize LGBTQ+ people. The group said that the new Ugandan legislation was a revised and more egregious version of the 2014 bill.

The proposed law, once passed, would ban the funding or promotion of LGBTQ+ activities. It also proposes a 10-year jail term for Ugandans who engage in a same sex relationship or marriage. There will be a 10 year jail sentence for anyone convicted of gay sex with a minor. Furthermore, the bill also threatens people who give their premises to gay people on rent with a prison sentence.

Same-sex relations are already banned in more than 30 African countries, where many people still follow conservative religious and social values.

Caroline Finnegan

A professionnal journalist for the past ten years, I cover global news and economic affairs for The Chief Observer.

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