Uganda Reacts on Bill -‘Aggravated Homosexuality’ With Death

The government uses the term “aggravated homosexuality” to describe actions like having gay sex while HIV positive, and the provisions in the new bill allow for the death penalty in those situations. 

Uganda on way to pass LGBTQ+ and homosexuality bill

Tuesday saw Uganda’s Parliament pass one of the strictest anti-LGBTQ laws in the world, largely unchanged after the president asked that some provisions of the law, which calls for lengthy prison sentences and the death penalty, be softened.

According to a Reuters report, the provisions that were kept in the new bill permit the death penalty in cases of what the government refers to as “aggravated homosexuality,” which includes acts like having gay sex while HIV positive. 

According to the report, the bill allows for sentences of up to 20 years for those who advocate for homosexuality, which activists fear may criminalize any support for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people. 

According to the report, President Yoweri Museveni, a vocal opponent of LGBTQ rights, has indicated he intends to sign the legislation once certain changes are made, including the addition of measures to “rehabilitate” gay people. Museveni can sign the new legislation, veto it, or send it back to the parliament.

Although his office was unavailable for comment, it was unclear right away if the new bill satisfied his demands. 

The European Union, United Nations, major corporations, and the United States have all denounced the new bill. 

Human rights advocate Adrian Jjuuko criticized the first amendment’s treatment of LGBTQ identity as “useless.”

“In reality, it doesn’t matter to the police whether you committed the crime. He said, “They will arrest you for acting like a gay person, walking like a gay person. 

In Uganda, same-sex relationships are already prohibited by British colonial law, and members of the LGBTQ community frequently experience harassment and arrest at the hands of the police.