The Anti-Homosexuality Law, 2023, which makes acts associated with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people illegal, was unanimously approved by Parliament on Tuesday.
In accordance with this new legislation, those who openly identify as members of the LGBTQ community can be sentenced to 2–10 years in prison for acts such as homosexual activity, aggravated homosexual activity, attempted homosexual activity, aiding and abetting homosexual activity, and conspiracy to commit homosexual activity.
The Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2023 was initially introduced for first reading on March 9, 2023, by Asuman Basalirwa, a member of parliament from the Bugiri Municipality.
Speaker Anita Among then referred the measure for review to the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee.
After ten days of intense public hearings and scrutiny, the Committee sent the Bill back to the House on Tuesday for the second and third readings. After seven hours of debate, in which 358 of the 529 lawmakers took part, the Bill was decisively passed.
Basalirwa reiterated the bill’s main goal, noting that it develops complete and improved legislation to safeguard the traditional family by outlawing same-sex relationships and enhancing Uganda’s ability to combat new threats to the traditional family.
Speaking in favor of the Bill, Basalirwa claimed that the new legislation will forbid same-sex unions as well as safeguard Uganda’s valued cultural traditions, children, and young people who are particularly vulnerable to sexual assault.
The Bill protects and offers assistance and payment of compensation to victims of homosexuality while outlawing and punishing homosexuality and its associated behaviors.
The National Development Plan-NDP III is aligned with the Law, according to the certificate of financial implication granted by Matia Kasaija, the Minister of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development, to enable families to uphold national values.
Fox Odoi Oywelowo of the Budama North East Constituency and Paul Kwizera of the Kisoro Municipality, however, issued a dissenting minority report to the Bill, noting infringement of Articles 28 and 44(c) of the Constitution as well as duplication of various articles in the Criminal Code Act of 1950.
They claimed that the Bill would thereby violate Ugandans’ rights to freedom of expression, association, liberty, equality, and privacy as well as their right to be free from discrimination and inhuman or degrading treatment, among other rights.
Anita Many, the Speaker of the Parliament, emphasized that no European sanctions will affect the nation’s sovereignty and said that the house has fulfilled its fundamental duty of legislating.
Many members of civil society, including those from Chapter 4, the Women’s Pro Bono Initiative, and the Makerere University School of Law, dissented from the bill, claiming that it would incite prejudice towards the nation’s sexual and gender diversity.
Significantly, on December 20, 2013, Uganda became the first country to enact the Anti-Homosexuality Law, which was proposed by David Bahati, a member of parliament from Ndorwa East. For criminals, this specific statute offered both the life sentence and the death penalty.
On February 24, 2014, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni signed the Act into law. However, the Constitutional Court later declared the Act invalid on the grounds that there was not the required quorum in the House when it was approved. During that time, aid to Uganda was blocked by a number of donors from nations like Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States.