Following yesterday’s sitting, parliament passed a bill which would later on be signed by the president into law to criminalize people who identify themselves as gay,or a sexual minority.
It’s highly notable that once it’s signed culprit’s could face a lengthy prison terms. However it’s proposed under this legislation that friends, family have a duty to report individuals in same sex relationships to the authorities concerned.
The bill further seeks to criminalize people on basis of their sexual identity. Ever since it’s being tabled earlier this month,it gained more broad support in Uganda’s parliament on Tuesday.
The bill further stipulates that a person convicted of grooming or trafficking children for purposes of engaging them in homosexual activities could face life imprisonment.
Further more the bill adds that individuals or organizations that support LGBT rights activities also face the same prosecution and imprisonment.
However a small group of Ugandan MPs on a committee scrutinizing the bill disagreed with its premise arguing that offenses it seeks to criminalize are already concerned in the country’s Penal Code Act.
Activists and LGBT people in Uganda voiced anti homosexuality sentiments in the country citing that it was exposing them to both physical and online violence and further warned that the bill may have far reaching consequences for Ugandans in general.
Same sex relations are banned in about 30 African countries where many people still uphold conservative religious and social values.
