Strict law passed
Queer people are arrested in Uganda
03/22/2023, 08:21 am
Conspiracy myths accusing international forces of promoting homosexuality are rife among Ugandans. The negative attitude towards everyone who feels part of the LGBTQ community is now reflected in a drastic law.
The Ugandan parliament passed an anti-gay law on Tuesday evening. Accordingly, people who carry out homosexual acts in the East African country or do not report attempts at homosexual acts face between seven and ten years in prison or high fines.
As the law was passed, parliamentarians kept shouting homophobic comments. One of the deputies called for the castration of homosexuals. Speaker of Parliament Annet Anita Among said after the final vote that “the law was passed in record time”. It must now be submitted to President Yoweri Museveni, who can either approve or veto it. Homosexuality is already banned in Uganda.
Human Rights Watch previously criticized the law. “The potential ramifications are far-reaching,” said Oryem Nyeko, Uganda expert at the human rights organization. Aside from restricting fundamental rights to privacy, freedom of expression and freedom of association, this type of criminalization of people creates a climate of fear and encourages discrimination. The law appears to be the first to ban the mere identification of a person as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ).
The law has broad public support in Uganda. Conspiracy theories have been rife in recent months accusing international forces of promoting homosexuality in Uganda. Last week, police in the southern city of Jinja announced they had arrested six men for “practicing homosexuality.” Another six men were arrested on Sunday on the same charge.
More than 30 countries ban same-sex relationships
In 2014, the Ugandan parliament passed a similar law that would have provided for life imprisonment for convicted homosexuals. However, the Constitutional Court overturned the law due to procedural details. The project sparked outrage around the world. Uganda has strict laws against homosexuality that are a legacy of the British colonial era. Since gaining independence from Britain in 1962, there has been no conviction for consensual homosexual acts.
In other East African countries, too, the climate for gays and lesbians has recently worsened. According to Human Rights Watch, same-sex relationships are illegal in more than 30 countries. A leading politician from the Tanzanian ruling party called for the castration of homosexual people at the weekend. Kenya’s President William Ruto said in early March that homosexuality had no place in his country.