TEN months after the Ugandan Government passed one of the world’s toughest anti-LGBTQ laws, a legislator from that African country is encouraging Jamaica not to succumb to the pressure of the Western world and give in to what he described as immoral and irreverent principles.

“My advice to the Government of Jamaica is that they need to take up a stance if they cherish the culture of Jamaica. They need to stand on their own and protect the dignity of the people of Jamaica by not yielding to the pressure of the Western world,” David Lagen, the Member of Parliament for Agago West County in northern Uganda, stated passionately in an interview with the
Jamaica Observer last Thursday.

Lagen was in Jamaica for the launch of a series of books by journalist-turned-missionary Donna Hussey Stewart.

He said the Jamaican Government should take a definitive stance against the Western world when fighting against issues related to laws that promote homosexuality and “any principle that goes against the kingdom of God”.

Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act, signed into law last year May, states that anyone convicted of homosexuality can face up to life imprisonment, while a person found guilty of “aggravated homosexuality” can be subjected to the death penalty.

The draconian law stipulates capital punishment for ‘serial offenders’ and transmission of a terminal illness like HIV/AIDS through gay sex. It also prescribes a 20-year sentence for ‘promoting’ homosexuality.

On signing the Bill, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni described homosexuality as a “deviation from normal” and urged lawmakers to resist “imperialist” pressure.

The law drew condemnation from Western countries and rights groups in Uganda. A local group, Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum, and 10 other individuals filed a complaint against the law at the constitutional court.

United States President Joe Biden labelled the action “a tragic violation” of human rights and said Washington would evaluate the implications of the law “on all aspects of US engagement with Uganda”.

The US Government also struck Uganda from an economic assistance programme under the US African Growth and Opportunity Act established in 2000 and which provides eligible sub-Saharan African countries with duty-free access to the US market for more then 1,800 products.

Additionally, the US imposed visa restrictions on hundreds of Ugandan legislators and their families over their involvement in enacting the law.

“The United States stands by the Ugandan people and remains committed to working together to advance democracy, human rights, public health, and mutual prosperity,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had said in a statement.

MUSEVENI… signed the Bill into law last May

He encouraged the Ugandan Government “to make concerted efforts to uphold democracy and to respect and protect human rights so that we may sustain the decades-long partnership between our countries that has benefited Americans and Ugandans alike”.

Last August the World Bank withdrew funding from the African nation, stating that the Act fundamentally contradicts its values.

“We believe our vision to eradicate poverty on a liveable planet can only succeed if it includes everyone irrespective of race, gender, or sexuality. This law undermines those efforts. Inclusion and non-discrimination sit at the heart of our work around the world,” the World Bank said.

“Immediately after the law was enacted the World Bank deployed a team to Uganda to review our portfolio in the context of the new legislation. That review determined additional measures are necessary to ensure projects are implemented in alignment with our environmental and social standards. Our goal is to protect sexual and gender minorities from discrimination and exclusion in the projects we finance. These measures are currently under discussion with the authorities,” the World Bank added.

On Thursday, when the
Sunday Observer asked Lagen about the possibilities of Jamaica suffering similar financial consequences if it took the same stance as Uganda, he said that the Caribbean country must find ways to decrease dependency on foreign funding.

“Jamaica can cooperate in other aspects of life but the Western world must respect the dignity and the culture of the Jamaicans. Jamaica has to find ways to generate the money because the country cannot just depend on the World Bank,” he argued.

“If outside funding stops, what are you going to do?” he asked.

“In Uganda it was not easy, but we made this sacrifice to protect the people,” he said.

He encouraged the Jamaican Government to develop plans that will help the country generate its own money and become less dependent on funding from the larger countries.

Lagen claimed that prior to enacting the Bill Uganda faced many challenges, one of which, he said, was foreign individuals introducing homosexuality into schools, which negatively affected the behaviour of students.

“Children were given money and they were being bribed to practise homosexuality. Families were getting into problems. Parents were seeing strange behaviour in their children and some of the parents committed suicide because of these strange behaviours. It was really a big mess and a big problem,” he said.

“So, as a country that believes in God and wanted to protect the dignity and the culture of our people, Parliament came up with the Bill,” Lagen told the
Sunday Observer.

He said that when the Bill was first presented to President Museveni the United Nations (UN), European Union and World Bank threatened to remove funding if he signed it. He also alleged that Government members were offered bribes to oppose the Bill.

“In a parliamentary meeting I had with the president I remember that day I took the microphone and passionately spoke. I said, ‘Mr President, you have fought so many wars in this country without the help of the UN and European Union. We have seen peace prevail in this country. Why do you want to become a coward today not to sign the Bill at the expense of our children, our mothers, and our local people?’ ” Lagen told the
Sunday Observer.

“One week later the president signed the Bill and told us he was ready for the consequences. We are not going to depend on the UN, the European Union, nor the World Bank. We are going to depend on God,” Lagen said.

He said that since the Bill was passed there has been more sanity in the country, and he urged Jamaicans to use Uganda as an example to understand that the country can survive without neglecting its moral principles.