African country set to adopt death penalty for gay sex — RT Africa
A controversial bill has been passed by Uganda’s parliament making ‘aggravated homosexuality’ a capital crime
Uganda’s parliament has voted overwhelmingly in favor of a bill making certain homosexual acts a capital crime. The measure has now been passed to President Yoweri Museveni, who is expected to sign it despite stiff foreign opposition.
All but two of the country’s 389 MPs backed the measure during a legislative session on Tuesday night. The bill imposes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality” as well as life imprisonment for “recruitment, promotion and funding“homosexuals”activities.”
Fox Odoi-Oyelowo, one of two lawmakers to oppose the measure, described it as “badly designed” with “unconstitutionalprovisions in comments quoted by The Guardian. Not only is he not”introduce any added value“to the existing law, but it”reverses gains made in the fight against gender-based violence and criminalizes individuals“where he should focus on”contact that contravenes all known legal standards“said the lawmaker.
Many foreign LGBTQ advocacy groups also condemned the measure, calling it “hatred legislation” And “discriminatoryand swearing to fight him.
A previous bill introduced in 2019 called for the death penalty for all same-sex sexual activity, and the practice has been illegal since Uganda is a British colony.
Museveni criticized Western governments last week for threatening sanctions in response to anti-LGBTQ legislation, calling their efforts to impose foreign cultural norms on African societies “hypocritical.”
“Homosexuals are deviations from the normalhe said, explaining that it was necessary to know whether “nature or nurture” decided an individual’s orientation. “We need a medical opinion on this,” he insisted.
The United States threatened to withhold aid to Uganda in 2014 when the nation passed a law punishing “aggravated homosexuality– an offense that includes same-sex sexual activity with HIV or someone under the age of 18 – with life in prison, leading a wave of international opposition that resulted in the legislation being struck down over a technicality
Uganda, a predominantly Christian nation, is one of 37 African countries to ban homosexuality. Nigeria, Sudan and Mauritania also punish the practice with death in some cases.
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