Ugandan lawmakers passed of up to 10 years for offenses related to same-sex relations, responding to popular sentiment but piling more pressure on the East African country91裸聊视频檚 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.
91裸聊视频淐ongratulations,91裸聊视频� said Speaker Anita Among. 91裸聊视频淲hatever we are doing, we are doing it for the people of Uganda.91裸聊视频�
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 91裸聊视频渁 more egregious version91裸聊视频� of the 2014 law, which drew widespread international concern and was struck down amid pressure from Uganda91裸聊视频檚 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 91裸聊视频渢rying to impose their practices on other people.91裸聊视频�
The bill was introduced last month by an opposition lawmaker who said his goal was to punish 91裸聊视频減romotion, recruitment and funding91裸聊视频� related to LGBTQ activities. His bill creates the offense of 91裸聊视频渁ggravated homosexuality,91裸聊视频� which applies in cases of sex relations involving those infected with HIV as well as minors and other categories of vulnerable people. It was not immediately clear what the punishment is for that offense following last-minute amendments in a protracted plenary session in the capital, Kampala.
The bill also creates the offense of 91裸聊视频渁ttempted homosexuality,91裸聊视频� punishable with up to 10 years in jail.
Same-sex activity is already punishable with life imprisonment under a colonial-era law targeting 91裸聊视频渃arnal knowledge against the order of nature,91裸聊视频� partly the basis of a report by dissenters on the parliamentary committee that vetted the bill before Tuesday91裸聊视频檚 vote.
The bill is 91裸聊视频渋ll-conceived91裸聊视频� and unconstitutional because it 91裸聊视频渃riminalizes individuals instead of conduct,91裸聊视频� said lawmaker Fox Odoi, representing the dissenters.
The bill, if signed into law, 91裸聊视频渨ould violate multiple fundamental rights, including rights to freedom of expression and association, privacy, equality, and non-discrimination, according to Human Rights Watch.
91裸聊视频淥ne 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,91裸聊视频� the group91裸聊视频檚 Oryem Nyeko said in a statement earlier this month. 91裸聊视频淯gandan politicians should focus on passing laws that protect vulnerable minorities and affirm fundamental rights and stop targeting LGBT people for political capital.91裸聊视频�
Anti-gay sentiment in Uganda has grown in recent weeks amid alleged reports of sodomy in boarding schools, including a prestigious one for boys where a parent accused a teacher of abusing her son. Authorities are investigating that case.
Uganda91裸聊视频檚 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 group91裸聊视频檚 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, including some who see homosexuality as imported from abroad.
91裸聊视频淭he Church of England has departed from the Anglican faith and are now false teachers,91裸聊视频� Ugandan Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba said in a statement last month that described 91裸聊视频渁 crisis at hand.91裸聊视频�
Homosexuality is criminalized in more than 30 of Africa91裸聊视频檚 54 countries.
Rodney Muhumuza, The Associated Press
