THE KILL GAYS BILL: Uganda plans to reintroduce bill that would impose death penalty on homosexuals
Uganda has announced plans to reintroduce a bill which would bring in the death penalty for homosexuals in the East African nation.
The legislation — known as the ‘Kill the Gays’ bill — was nullified five years ago on a technicality, but the government now has plans to resurrect it within weeks.
“Homosexuality is not natural to Ugandans, but there has been a massive recruitment by gay people in schools, and especially among the youth, where they are promoting the falsehood that people are born like that,” Ethics and Integrity Minister Simon Lokodo said.
“Our current penal law is limited. It only criminalises the act. We want it made clear that anyone who is even involved in promotion and recruitment has to be criminalised. Those that do grave acts will be given the death sentence,” he added.
Lokodo said Uganda’s bill, which is supported by President Yoweri Museveni, will be reintroduced in parliament in the coming weeks, and it is expected to be voted on before the end of the year. African countries like Uganda have some of the world’s most prohibitive laws governing homosexuality. Same-sex relationships are considered taboo and gay sex is a crime across most of the continent, with punishments ranging from imprisonment to death.