Ugandan Parliament
Set To Pass Anti Gay Bill
A
bill criminalising homosexuality in Uganda is likely to scale
through the parliament and deal a blow to rights activists, but
the act will be amended to appease donors who fund about a third
of the budget.
Rights groups say the draft Anti-Homosexuality Bill is part of a
growing campaign against homosexuals in Uganda while critics say
the aim is to divert attention from corruption and other
political issues ahead of the Year 2011 national vote.
The bill's author, lawmaker David Bahati, says the legislation
is about promoting family values. "Homosexuality is not part of
the human rights we believe in," he said.
Modifications
Activists and political observers expect the private
members' bill, which proscribes the death penalty for "serial
offenders" and is still in the committee stage, to pass with
little opposition and some minor changes.
Likely changes may include modifying the death penalty to life
imprisonment, altering clauses nullifying international
treaties, conventions and protocols that contradict the act, and
removing a section about extradition.
‘For and against’
"It's catastrophic," Frank Mugisha, chairman of Sexual
Minorities Uganda (SMUG), a local activist group said.
"People are being arrested, intimidated already. What's going to
happen if it's passed?" he asked.
COURT CHALLENGE
Bahati, of the ruling National Resistance Movement party,
said diplomatic pressure would not affect the legislation. "We
cannot exchange our dignity for money," he said.
Rights groups say gays and lesbians already face illegal
detention and abuse under Uganda's current laws, a situation
that is likely to worsen if the bill is passed.
"Certain provisions in this bill are illegal. They are also
immoral," said Kate Sheill, Amnesty International's expert on
sexual rights, in a statement with 16 other rights groups.
"They criminalise a sector of society for being who they are,
when what the government should be doing instead is protecting
them from discrimination and abuse."
President Museveni has been quoted in local media as saying that
homosexuality is a Western import, joining some Ugandan and
continental religious leaders who believe it is un-African.
Activists say they will contest the bill in court if passed.
REUTERS/Yinka
