The Ugandan 11th Parliament, chaired by the Rt. Honourable Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda Anita Among, voted on Tuesday for the proposed LGBTQ bill to be passed as laws against homosexuality and lesbian practices. The bill now awaits the President’s signature after his thorough review and study in the next 60 days (two months) from now.
According to Rt. Hon. Anita Among, the proposed bill has drawn overwhelmingly mixed reactions from both the local and international communities, with threats to stop providing Uganda with the grants, foreign aid, and other assistance that the West has been providing.
The Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2023 was introduced to parliament by Bugiri MP and opposition lawmaker Hon. Asuman Basalirwa. He described it as a tool intended to safeguard Ugandans’ traditional family values, legal system, and religious beliefs from acts that might encourage sexual promiscuity in this country.
The goal of the bill, he continued, “was to establish a comprehensive and enhanced legislation to protect traditional family values, our diverse culture, and our faiths, by prohibiting any type of sexual relations between people of the same sex and the promotion or recognition of sexual relations between people of the same sex.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reacted via his Twitter handle that, ‘’ The Anti-Homosexuality Act passed by the Ugandan Parliament on Tuesday would undermine the fundamental human rights of all Ugandans and could reverse gains in the fight against HIV/AIDS. We urge the Ugandan Government to strongly reconsider the implementation of this legislation’’.
As acts of Homosexuality pose a threat to African traditional cultural values, religion, family setting and norms, the new legislation criminalizes them and intensifies the hunt for LGBTQ practitioners in Uganda. Such acts are punishable by a maximum of twenty years in prison for adults and three years in prison for juvenile offenders found in the act or even attract a life sentence. The measure also outlaws conspiracy to engage in homosexual activity as well as its encouragement.
The proposed bill suggests that the death sentence may be applied in situations involving “aggravated homosexuality,” which is a general word for sex acts carried out against minors, individuals with physical or mental problems, by “serial offenders,” or involving incest. The revisions, which were proposed by the chairperson for legal and parliamentary affairs, Hon. Robina Rwakoojo, stated that “a person who commits the offence of aggravated homosexuality is liable, on conviction, to suffer death.”
While the proposed bill unfairly restricts the fundamental rights of LGBTQ people, lawmaker Fox Odoi-Oywelowo came out against it, claiming that it “contravenes established international and regional human rights standards.”
According to LGBTQ advocate Frank Mugisha, the law may result in numerous arrests of Gay persons and mob violence against them, making people fearful of coming out.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a warning about the law’s potential to violate Ugandans’ rights back in March of this year.
Last Monday, President Museveni derided gays, calling them “deviants” from the normal.
The introduction of an anti-homosexuality bill in Uganda in 2009 that included a death penalty provision for LGBTQ people made news around the world. The death penalty provision was removed from the bill’s 2014 passage in favour of a proposal for life in prison.
Uganda remains a safe place for Tourists
Despite the continuous hullabaloo surrounding the anti-homosexuality proposed bill that is awaiting presidential approval, Uganda is still a pleasant and most sought after tourist destination for travelers from all over the world.
As long as they follow the correct procedures and have the necessary travel documents, such as a passport and tourist visa among others, the proposed Anti-Homosexuality bill has no bearing on international tourist visitors who are considering visiting Uganda and therefore the country welcomes them all.
The only place in the world where you can get up close and personal with 54% of the remaining mountain gorillas, 11% of recorded bird species, 8% of global mammal diversity (which is 39% of Africa’s mammal richness), 19% of Africa’s amphibian species, 14% of Africa’s reptile species richness, and a recorded 1,249 butterfly species is Uganda, recently named by CNN as the best travel destination.
The country is endowed with nice weather throughout the year, courteous people, tasty local cuisine, abundant wildlife, spectacular mountain ranges, fascinating waterfalls, and rivers, among other things.
With peace and guaranteed security by the government, the country provides an enabling environment for tourism and other businesses to thrive.
The development of infrastructure, including the rapidly growing ICT sector, appropriate road networks connecting to tourist destinations, the banking sector, which enables financial transactions, and forex bureaus for the exchange of various currencies, are all factors that support the tourism industry among others.
The revival of Uganda Airlines in August 2019 has made Entebbe International Airport a seamless gateway to Uganda. The national airline provides service to African destinations with international scheduled flights to Dubai, China, the USA, and South Africa, as well as regional connecting flights to and from Bujumbura, Juba, Kinshasa, Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro, Bujumbura, Mombasa, Zanzibar, and Mogadishu.
Other Airlines that operate international flights to Uganda are Emirates, Egypt Air, Qatar Airways, RwandAir, Precision Air, flydubai, Kenya Airways, KLM, Brussels Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Tarco Air, Aorkenya Expresss, Auric Air, Salam Air, Airlink, among others.
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