The Ugandan president asked parliamentarians to "re-examine" a controversial anti-LGBT law in a letter read Wednesday, April 26, in Parliament, urging them in particular to maintain the criminalization of sexual relations between people of the same sex but not because of "the fact of 'to be homosexual'. This text, voted on March 21, which provides for heavy penalties for people maintaining homosexual relations, has aroused strong indignation from human rights organizations and Western governments, which have threatened sanctions.
"I am sending the bill back to Parliament for reconsideration," wrote Yoweri Museveni, saying "some provisions need to be reconsidered and revised," in a letter read by Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa to elected officials gathered in session. The Head of State, who himself regularly describes homosexuality as "deviance", asks elected officials to "distinguish between being homosexual and engaging in acts of homosexuality".
"It is clear that our society does not condone homosexual conduct or acts, so the proposed law must be clear so that what is criminalized is not the state of a person with a deviant propensity but rather the acts of a person acting on it or promoting it, he writes. The bill should be reviewed and include a provision that clearly states (…) that a person who is presumed or suspected homosexual and who has not committed a sexual act with another person of the same sex does not commit act of offence. »
"Discriminatory text"
No mention is made of the penalties enshrined in the law. According to defenders of the homosexual cause, the initial text provides that anyone engaging in homosexual activities incurs life imprisonment and, in the event of recidivism, the death penalty. Included in Ugandan law, the death penalty has not been applied for years. Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda and so-called "unnatural" relationships are punishable by life since a law dating back to British colonization.
Mr. Museveni also asks parliamentarians to review the article on "the duty to report acts of homosexuality" which, according to him, "presents constitutional challenges and could be a source of conflict in society". The law must also facilitate the "rehabilitation" of homosexuals who come "to seek help", he believes. Last week, government lawyers and parliamentarians from the ruling party asked the president to review the text.
Since the vote on this law, the UN, Amnesty International, the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) have urged President Museveni not to promulgate this text.
The White House had warned Uganda of potential economic "consequences". The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, had denounced a "discriminatory text, probably the worst in the world of its kind". In a resolution on April 20, MEPs deplored "President Museveni's contribution to hateful rhetoric against" LGBT people, adding that "EU-Uganda relations will be at risk if the President enacts the draft law ".
Homophobia is widespread in Uganda, as it is across East Africa. While there have been no prosecutions for homosexual acts in recent years, harassment and intimidation are the daily life of homosexual people in Uganda, where an evangelical Christianity has developed that is particularly vehement with regard to the LGBT movement.
