Despite the denunciations of human rights defenders, Ugandan parliamentarians adopted on Tuesday March 21 a law reinforcing the criminalization of homosexuality in the country.
” This assembly will not hesitate to restrict any right whatsoever, in order to recognize, protect and safeguard the sovereignty, morality and culture of this country. “, hammered the president of the chamber of deputies, Anita Among, to the adoption of the new anti-homosexuality law.
The chamber had been a full house for the six-hour session that culminated in the vote on the text.
The law has been widely amended and its final version is not yet known, but the draft under discussion provided for increased penalties, up to 10 years in prison, in the event of a homosexual relationship, or even an LGBTQ+ claim. Head of State Yoweri Museveni has 30 days to enact it: last week he called homosexuals ” deviant “.
However, it was a member of his party, Fox Odoi, who led the opposition to this project, describing certain provisions as unconstitutional.
Homosexuality has been banned in Uganda since colonial times, but according to AFP, the country has never seen any prosecutions for consensual homosexual acts. In 2014, a text of the same ilk was voted on and then promulgated by President Museveni, before being blocked by the courts. It provided for a life prison sentence for homosexuals.
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