![]() Scores of university students marched Wednesday to the parliamentary chambers in the capital, Kampala, to thank lawmakers for enacting the bill, underscoring the fervency of the bill’s supporters. The new law is the result of years of efforts by lawmakers, church leaders and others. While a legal challenge to the new law is mounted by activists and academics seeking to stop its enforcement, LGBTQ+ people in Uganda have been chilled by the growing anti-gay sentiment there. ![]() ![]() Ugandan human rights lawyer and activist leads fellow activists to file a petition challenging the signing of the new Anti-homosexuality law by President Yoweri Museveni, at the constitution court in Kampala, May 29, 2023. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the Global Fund said Uganda’s progress on its HIV response “is now in grave jeopardy,” as the law can obstruct health education and outreach. President Joe Biden called the new law “a tragic violation of universal human rights.” The United Nations human rights office said it was “appalled.” A joint statement by the leaders of the U.N. And there’s a 20-year prison term for a suspect convicted of “promoting” homosexuality, a broad category affecting everyone from journalists to rights activists and campaigners.Īfter the law’s signing, U.S. A suspect convicted of “attempted aggravated homosexuality” can be imprisoned for up to 14 years. Still, the new law prescribes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality,” which is defined as cases of sexual relations involving people infected with HIV, as well as with minors and other categories of vulnerable people. Museveni had returned the bill to the national assembly in April asking for changes that would differentiate between identifying as LGBTQ+ and engaging in homosexual acts. The version signed did not criminalize those who identify as LGBT+, following an outcry over an earlier draft. The new law signed by President Yoweri Museveni has been widely condemned by rights activists and others abroad. Pretty Peter, who wished to be identified by her chosen name out of concern for her safety, fled the country in 2019 after police arrested 150 people at a gay club and paraded them in front of the media before charging them with public nuisance. Homosexuality has long been illegal in Uganda under a colonial-era law criminalizing sexual activity “against the order of nature.” The punishment for that offense is life imprisonment. FILE – Member of Parliament from Bubulo contituency John Musira, dressed in an anti-gay gown, attends the debate of the Anti-Homosexuality Act inside the chambers at the Parliament buildings in Kampala, Uganda, March 21, 2023.
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