Responding to the news that the Ugandan Parliament has passed a law criminalizing same-sex sexual activity between consenting adults, Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, said:
“President Yoweri Museveni must urgently veto this terrible law, passed Tuesday afternoon in a hasty vote. The so-called ‘Anti Homosexuality Act 2023’ is a serious attack on LGBTI people and flouts the Ugandan Constitution.”
“This ambiguous and imprecisely worded law penalizes even those who ‘promote’ homosexuality or ‘try to commit the crime of homosexuality’‘. In reality, this deeply repressive law will institutionalize discrimination, hate, and bias against LGBTI and perceived LGBTI people and block the legitimate work of public health professionals, community leaders, and civil society.”
“Instead of criminalizing LGBTI people, Uganda should protect them by enacting laws and policies in line with the principles of equality and non-discrimination enshrined not only in the Ugandan Constitution but also in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.”
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After debating it, Parliament approved the punishment of life imprisonment for homosexual conduct and 10 years in prison for attempted homosexual conduct. It also approved the death penalty for aggravated homosexuality. The law passed by Parliament also penalizes the “promotion” of homosexuality, and thereby encourages homophobia.
It is not the first time that the Ugandan Parliament has attempted to re-criminalize homosexuality since Uganda’s “Anti-Homosexuality Act” was repealed in 2014, included in the 1950 Penal Code, corresponding to the colonial era.
On May 3, 2021, Parliament passed the Sexual Offenses Bill, with the aim of criminalizing all “same-gender sexual acts” as well as anal sex between people of any gender. In August 2021, President Museveni rejected it, arguing that many of its provisions were redundant since they were already contained in existing legislation, including the Penal Code.