The Bugiri Municipality lawmaker Asuman Basalirwa has obtained permission from the House to present a private member’s bill dubbed the Anti-Homosexuality Law, 2023.
The legislation aims to outlaw same-sex relationships.
Basalirwa requested permission from the House to propose the Bill during Tuesday’s plenary session by using Rule 79 of the Rules of Procedure, Article 79, and Article 94 of the Constitution.
The Penal Code Act, which was passed by British colonialists to forbid the recruitment, promotion, and funding of same-sex practices, needs to be improved, according to Basalirwa, who also told the House that the vice imperils the continuation of the family, the safety of children, and the continuation of humanity through reproduction.
Sarah Achieng Opendi, a female member of parliament representing the Tororo District, seconded the resolution and said it was regretful that the colonialists who introduced religion to the country and passed the Criminal Code Act had reneged on the morality they had advocated.
Speaker Anita Among advised lawmakers against taking bribes from advocates of the LGBTIQ+ agenda in an effort to thwart the Bill, stressing that the House will vote physically on the issue to expose those who are opposed to the government’s position.
On October 14, 2009, David Bahati, a Member of Parliament from Ndorwa East and the present Minister of State for Commerce, Industry, and Cooperatives, introduced the Anti Homosexuality Bill, 2009 as a Private Member’s Bill.
The Bill called for the death penalty for same-sex marriages and gay partnerships, including oral sex. It also called for the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality,” which includes having sex with a juvenile or while HIV-positive.
In addition, the Bill set out punishments for “attempting to commit homosexuality” that ranged from five to seven years in prison, a fine of 150 million shillings, or both, depending on the offense. Companies or organizations that are found to be encouraging the vice risk having their registration certificates removed and directors risking seven years in prison.
On December 20, 2013, Parliament approved the Act, which calls for a life sentence with the possibility of the death penalty. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni signed the Act into law on February 24, 2014, however the Constitutional Court declared it invalid on August 1 on the grounds that it was enacted without the required quorum.
According to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association’s (ILGA) 2020 Global Review Report, Africa is home to over half of the world’s homophobic nations.
Only 22 of Africa’s 54 states have made homosexuality legal. While same-sex partnerships are punishable by death in Mauritania, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan, they are also punishable by imprisonment in some nations.
