Uganda Lawmakers Present An Anti-Gay Bill in Parliament

Post by : Hillary Musyoki

Uganda has introduced a legislation to its parliament that proposes tough new penalties for same-sex relationships in the country.

Annet Anita Among, speaker of parliament, referred the bill to a house committee for an inspection, the first been a process to pass the proposal into law.

She 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 bill was presented as conspiracy theories, filled the air accusing shadowy international forces promoting homosexuality gain attraction on social media in Uganda.

In the proposed law, ‘anyone who engages in same sex activity or who ‘holds outs’ as LGBTQ could face 10 years imprisonment.’

It has not been made clear how long the parliamentary process could take.

The speaker said when the time came, legislators would vote on the bill one-by-one in front of their peers.

Uganda is notorious of homosexuality which is criminalized under colonial-era-laws.

However since they gained independence in 1962, there has never been a conviction for consensual same sex activity.

In 2014 Ugandan lawmakers passed a bill that called for life imprisonment for same sex couples, although the law was later dismissed by the court.

Human rights Watch said the new legislation was ‘revised and more of an extreme version’ of the 2014 bill.

‘Uganda politicians should focus on passing laws that protect vulnerable minorities and affirm fundamental right and stop targeting LGBTQ people for political capital,’ said Oryern Nyeko.